Oregon’s bye week may be quiet on the field, but the conversation around the Ducks keeps getting louder.
With the No. 15 Ducks sitting out before the stretch run, ESPN’s Rece Davis said there are teams in the Big Ten that deserve more attention than they’re getting right now - and two of the names he mentioned are coming to Autzen Stadium before long.
During his “Rece’s Pieces” segment on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Davis pointed to a few teams he believes are being overlooked.
“There's some teams lurking around in college football right now..I've been really impressed by UCLA and Nebraska..We might have some sneaky teams in the Big Ten”@ReceDavis #PMSLive https://t.co/OrWpMKDK51 pic.twitter.com/miQ6RZexv3
“There's some teams lurking around in college football,” Davis said. “A little bit quiet so far. And you're gonna find out just how good they are coming up in the next few weeks.”
He then singled out Iowa, UCLA and Nebraska.
“Iowa is one. You're gonna find out Saturday.
I've been really impressed with what Bob Chesney's doing at UCLA. You take Iowa, you take UCLA, you can even take Nebraska who's going to get Indiana in a couple of weeks and we may have some sneaky teams that give the Big Ten the type of depth that everybody has been saying 'Wow, the Big Ten's good at the top, but what about the middle?
What about the upper middle class?'" Davis said.
For Oregon, the more immediate name to circle is UCLA.
The Bruins have a familiar face in Bob Chesney, whose former James Madison team was beaten by Dan Lanning’s Ducks, 51-34, in the first round of the 2025 College Football Playoff. Chesney was already on the move to UCLA before that trip to Eugene, but the connection doesn’t stop there: he brought 11 players from James Madison with him to Los Angeles.
That new-look Bruins team has also started to settle in under Chesney. UCLA went 3-9 in 2025, but it has opened this season on a 4-0 run. The schedule hasn’t exactly been brutal - Cal, San Diego State, Purdue and Maryland have been the opponents - but every win has come by at least two scores.
One of the JMU transfers making an impact is senior running back Wayne Knight, who already looks like a major piece of the UCLA offense. Knight ran for 110 yards on 17 receptions against Oregon in 2025, and this season he has 445 yards and nine touchdowns on 49 carries. Overall, UCLA has piled up 1,126 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns, with Knight accounting for a big chunk of that production.
There’s familiarity on both sides here, and that could matter when Oregon and UCLA finally meet. Davis’ point was simple: the Bruins may be flying under the radar, but they might not stay there for long.
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Oregon Just Added To The Pressure Crushing Lincoln Riley And USC
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Leinart also pointed to the frustration building among fans and alumni as Lincoln Riley tries to steady the program, saying some have already started to lose faith in the direction of the team. He went a step further by contrasting USCs current slide with the recent rise of programs such as Indiana and UCLA, a reminder that the pressure in Los Angeles is not just about one loss, but about how long the Trojans can keep explaining why those results keep piling up. [Read more 🡒]