Oregon’s Halloween home game with Northwestern now has a time and a platform.
The Big Ten announced Monday that the Ducks will host the Wildcats on Oct. 31 at 12:30 p.m. PT at Autzen Stadium, with the conference matchup set for an exclusive Peacock stream. It’s another appearance for Oregon on the streaming service this season.
The game will also bring a familiar face back to Eugene. Chip Kelly, one of the most successful coaches in Oregon football history, will return to Autzen as Northwestern’s offensive coordinator under head coach David Braun.
Kelly has made previous trips back to Eugene as UCLA’s head coach and again in 2024 as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator, but he still hasn’t walked out of Autzen with a win as an opposing coach.
His run at Oregon remains a major part of the program’s modern history. Kelly coached the Ducks from 2009 through 2012, going 46-7, winning three straight Pac-12 titles and taking Oregon to the BCS National Championship Game after the 2010 season.
Northwestern will arrive in Eugene at 5-1 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play. Oregon is 4-2 overall and 2-1 in conference action.
Before that Halloween matchup, the Ducks still have another road test in front of them. They head to Illinois this Saturday after edging Nebraska 17-14, a game that left head coach Dan Lanning focused on the offensive problems still hanging around his team.
“Then, obviously, the conversation piece is the offense. It wasn't good enough in the first half,” Lanning said.
“There's certainly nobody in the nation working harder to try to find ways to improve that. I'll never make excuses.
We have talented enough players for us to be better than we've been.”
Oregon has been trying to find its footing offensively while dealing with injuries to several key players, including quarterback Dante Moore and wide receivers Evan Stewart and Jeremiah McClellan.
“I’m really proud of our team,” Lanning said after the Nebraska win. “There are a lot of things to fix, and we're going to fix them. We're going to work to fix them.”
In Other News...
Oregon Suddenly Faces A Big Evan Stewart Question
Evan Stewarts status has become another uneasy subplot for Oregon, which is already managing his return from injury after he missed the recent game. The wide receiver was booked into Springfield Municipal Jail on a charge of driving under the influence of intoxicants and released about an hour later, turning what should have been a football-focused week into a fresh off-field concern for the Ducks.
Springfield Police also moved quickly to shut down the noise around the incident, saying rumors of street racing involving Oregon players were unfounded and that Stewarts arrest was not tied to a separate police pursuit. For a team counting on Stewart as part of its offensive mix after his recovery, the bigger question now is less about what happened in Springfield and more about how Oregon handles the situation from here. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Exposed A Nebraska Problem That May Get Worse
Oregons defense left Nebraska searching for answers after holding the Huskers to 242 yards on 67 snaps, a performance that exposed how much work still remains for an offense trying to find any rhythm. Anthony Colandrea finished 18 of 33 for 164 yards and a touchdown while adding 38 rushing yards and a score on the ground, but the passing game rarely found easy openings and the run game never really got going.
The bigger concern is how many different parts of the offense looked stuck at once. Nebraskas primary backs managed just 58 yards on 18 carries, injuries took a toll on both the offensive line and the backfield, and wide receivers had trouble separating against Oregons coverage. The line gave up only one sack but allowed five pressures and was flagged four times, leaving a problem that could get a lot harder to solve if the protection and health issues linger. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Left Wondering After Two Late Replay Moments Swung Everything
Nebraska spent the final minutes of its loss to Oregon wrestling with two replay moments that ended up defining the finish. The Cornhuskers had a touchdown catch by Kwazi Gilmer upheld after review, with officials saying there was not enough clear evidence to overturn the call, and the Ducks kept hanging around until they finally grabbed their first lead with 28 seconds left.
Isaiah Mozee then became part of the late-game frustration when a potential Nebraska fumble was not reviewed, leaving the Huskers in possession and the sequence unresolved in real time. For Oregon, it was another close escape in a game decided by a handful of snaps and a couple of calls that Nebraska will be replaying for a long time. [Read more 🡒]