When Oregon’s 2026 schedule came out, the path to Ohio State looked straightforward enough: survive USC, then circle Nov. 7 at the Buckeyes. Four games into the season, that script already looks a lot messier.
No. 13 Oregon is 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten after a 39-31 nonconference loss at No.
18 Oklahoma State and a 41-27 road win at USC. Now comes a four-game stretch that looks far more demanding than it did in the summer, with No.
21 UCLA, Nebraska, Illinois and Northwestern all waiting before the trip to No. 5 Ohio State.
Dan Lanning isn’t treating any of it like breathing room.
“The great thing about a win, it builds confidence,” Lanning said. “We had some guys that built some confidence, but you go back and evaluate, we are so far from what we have to be as we move forward.”
Oregon is off this weekend before hosting UCLA at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Ducks then stay home for Nebraska on Oct. 17, go to Illinois on Oct. 24 and wrap the stretch against Northwestern on Oct. 31.
That run matters because a 10-2 finish should be enough to land Oregon in the College Football Playoff. At 9-3, the Ducks could be left out.
UCLA has already shown why it belongs on the list. First-year coach Bob Chesney inherited a 3-9 team and has turned it into one of the Big Ten’s most productive rushing outfits. The Bruins are averaging 281.6 rushing yards per game, fourth nationally, and Wayne Knight is putting up 111.3 rushing yards per game, second in the conference, while leading the Big Ten with nine rushing touchdowns.
The schedule hasn’t exactly been brutal, but UCLA has still piled up points in wins over California, Purdue and Maryland. The Bruins beat California 45-24, handled Purdue 52-38 and crushed Maryland 54-3 last week.
Their scoring output - 44.8 points per game - is second in the Big Ten, just behind Oregon’s 47.5. The passing game is limited, but the defense has held opponents to a conference-low 52.6% completion rate and just 2.7 yards per rush, second-best in the league. Oregon’s rushing defense, by comparison, is allowing 3.6 yards per carry, 10th in the Big Ten.
Nebraska enters the matchup with a different kind of danger. The Cornhuskers went 7-6 last season and were supposed to take a step back after Dylan Raiola transferred to Oregon, but Anthony Colandrea has steadied things at quarterback. He has completed 65.7% of his throws for 1,142 yards, 13 touchdowns and two interceptions.
Colandrea was sharp in Saturday’s 48-23 win over Maryland, throwing for 238 yards and three touchdowns while also running for 108 yards on 10 carries. Freshman back Jamal Rule, who sat out that game with an undisclosed lower-body injury, has averaged 83.3 rushing yards per game, which ranks fifth in the Big Ten.
Nebraska’s defense has been difficult to run against, and the secondary has been solid too, allowing just 165.2 passing yards per game, fifth-fewest in the conference. Oregon is giving up 231.3 passing yards per game, 16th in the Big Ten.
The Cornhuskers host No. 7 Indiana on Saturday before coming to Eugene the following week.
Illinois was supposed to be the toughest game in this middle stretch, but the picture has changed fast. The Fighting Illini, who went 9-4 in 2025, lost 31-27 at home to Duke on Sept. 12, then followed that with a 42-19 defeat at Ohio State and a 24-17 home loss to Purdue on Saturday. What looked like a major test now looks like Oregon’s least intimidating opponent in the next four weeks.
Northwestern has been the surprise of the group. The Wildcats went 7-6 last season and would be undefeated if not for a 29-23 loss to Indiana. They backed up that start Friday with a 34-13 home win over Penn State.
Chip Kelly is driving the offense as Northwestern’s coordinator, and Oregon knows that story well. Two seasons ago, Kelly was Ohio State’s offensive coordinator in the Buckeyes’ 41-21 playoff quarterfinal win over the Ducks at the Rose Bowl.
Northwestern beat Oregon 34-14 at home last season, and this year’s offense has leaned heavily on the ground game. Senior quarterback Aidan Chiles, a former Oregon State standout, has thrown only 89 passes, but he’s completed 70.8% of them for 900 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions. The Wildcats are averaging 212.8 rushing yards per game, which ranks 27th nationally and fourth in the Big Ten.
They may not lose again before coming to Eugene. Northwestern hosts Ball State next week, then goes to Michigan State on Oct. 17 and returns home for Rutgers on Oct. 24.
Oregon got a reset with the win at USC, but the road to Ohio State is still packed with traps.
“We got to grow a ton,” Lanning said.
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