5 Things To Watch: Oregon-Idaho
08/30/24 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
The Ducks open their 2024 season by hosting the Vandals on Saturday (4:30 p.m., Big Ten Network).
The No. 3 Oregon football team opens its 2024 season and its third year under head coach Dan Lanning when the Ducks host Idaho in Autzen Stadium on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
The UO football team is coming off a 2023 season in which the Ducks went 12-2 and won the Fiesta Bowl, beating Liberty. Idaho is the No. 7-ranked team at the FCS level, and went 9-4 in 2023 including 6-2 in the Big Sky Conference.
Oregon is 52-3-4 all-time against the Vandals, including 38-1-2 in Eugene; the teams most recently met in 2004, a 49-10 win for the Ducks. The UO football team is looking to win its season opener for the fourth time in the last five years; the last time Oregon lost a season opener in Autzen Stadium also was in 2004, against Indiana.
Saturday's game will be televised by the Big Ten Network, with play by play from Guy Haberman, analysis by Yogi Roth and sideline reporting from Rhett Lewis.
Some storylines to watch once the game kicks off ….
1. Though the first official conference matchup is a few weeks away, Saturday's game is the first for Oregon as members of the Big Ten Conference. New logos will adorn the Ducks' jerseys and the turf in Autzen Stadium, and the game will be broadcast by the Big Ten Network.
Pageantry should be off the charts Saturday, with fans participating in a "stripe out" of Autzen Stadium, and the stadium sold out of reserved seating since earlier this month. But the Ducks want to get this new era of the program's history off on the right foot, which means maintaining their focus despite all the pomp and circumstance.
"You can't come out sleepwalking," new UO quarterback Dillon Gabriel said. "That happens from year to year — people just come out sleepwalking. If you fall to that, then you dig yourself in a hole. It's all about starting fast, dominating the middle eight (minutes, at the end of the first half and start of the second) and then finishing strong."
2. With a big new conference affiliation comes big expectations for the Oregon football team in 2024. The Ducks are ranked in the top 10 of The Associated Press preseason top-25 poll for the first time since 2020, and the top five for the first time since 2015.
This year features a new format for the College Football Playoff, with a 12-team field, first-round byes for the top four conference champs and first-round home games for the teams ranked fifth through eighth by the CPF Selection Committee. There's a little more margin for error than Oregon has been accustomed to in years past, but that doesn't mean taking things lightly against Idaho, which led Cal 17-14 at halftime of a game last year, and was tied with WSU at halftime of a 2022 matchup.
"They've been a really competitive team versus good teams, teams that we played," Lanning said. "So they bring their best. They obviously perform up. I think this will be an exciting game for them, but nobody can go to sleep on them. They're talented; they're a good team for a reason."
3. Oregon's leaders will look to set the tone from the start Saturday, including the new starting quarterback Gabriel in his debut with the Ducks. Gabriel arrived in Eugene for spring practice after playing the last two seasons at Oklahoma, after starting his career at Central Florida.
Gabriel needs to throw for 166 yards Saturday to match Ty Detmer for seventh in NCAA history with 15,031 career passing yards; next up at No. 6 will be none other than Bo Nix, at 15,351. Gabriel needs six touchdown passes to reach 131 for his career, which would be tied for fifth in NCAA history.
But Gabriel made clear this week he isn't thinking about personal stats as the season dawns.
"I keep it simple, and it's find a way to win," he said. "I don't care how we do it or what it takes, it's just finding a way to get a 'W' and be plus-one on the scoreboard. That'll be the mindset. Of course there's things you want to be better at within the game to help that you focus on, but I look at that as a huge category in my book. Getting the 'W' is all that matters."
4. Double-digit win totals and bowl-game victories have been the norm in two seasons under Lanning. The Ducks will look to continue those trends in 2024, along with another: elite offensive line play.
Oregon allowed the fewest sacks in the country each of the last two years, five each in both 2022 and 2023. For that trend to continue, the UO offensive line will need to successfully replace the reigning Rimington Trophy winner as the best center in the country, Jackson Powers-Johnson.
Among the candidates is Charlie Pickard, a junior from Portland who joined the Ducks as a non-scholarship recruit out of Jesuit High but has worked himself into contention for a starting spot on the No. 3 team in the country to open this season.
"Anybody can contribute in football," Lanning said. "It's a lot different than other sports. It takes so many people to have a successful team, and guys like that that are able to contribute for us make it special."
5. Saturday's opener should feature several other high-profile UO debuts, from transfers such as receiver Evan Stewart, defensive lineman Derrick Harmon and cornerback Jabbar Muhammad. The Ducks also have returners looking to mature into bigger roles this season, the likes of tight end Kenyon Sadiq, offensive lineman Iapani Laloulu and outside linebacker Teitum Tuioti.
Saturday brings a chance for those players and more to introduce themselves to Oregon fans, or show they're prepared for more high-profile roles moving forward.
"You've got to go prove it every week," Gabriel said. "Logo isn't going to save you nothing; it's all about what you do on the field, and we know that. But I think just as a program we're very clear on preparing as best as we can and going out there and executing."
The UO football team is coming off a 2023 season in which the Ducks went 12-2 and won the Fiesta Bowl, beating Liberty. Idaho is the No. 7-ranked team at the FCS level, and went 9-4 in 2023 including 6-2 in the Big Sky Conference.
Oregon is 52-3-4 all-time against the Vandals, including 38-1-2 in Eugene; the teams most recently met in 2004, a 49-10 win for the Ducks. The UO football team is looking to win its season opener for the fourth time in the last five years; the last time Oregon lost a season opener in Autzen Stadium also was in 2004, against Indiana.
Saturday's game will be televised by the Big Ten Network, with play by play from Guy Haberman, analysis by Yogi Roth and sideline reporting from Rhett Lewis.
Some storylines to watch once the game kicks off ….
1. Though the first official conference matchup is a few weeks away, Saturday's game is the first for Oregon as members of the Big Ten Conference. New logos will adorn the Ducks' jerseys and the turf in Autzen Stadium, and the game will be broadcast by the Big Ten Network.
Pageantry should be off the charts Saturday, with fans participating in a "stripe out" of Autzen Stadium, and the stadium sold out of reserved seating since earlier this month. But the Ducks want to get this new era of the program's history off on the right foot, which means maintaining their focus despite all the pomp and circumstance.
"You can't come out sleepwalking," new UO quarterback Dillon Gabriel said. "That happens from year to year — people just come out sleepwalking. If you fall to that, then you dig yourself in a hole. It's all about starting fast, dominating the middle eight (minutes, at the end of the first half and start of the second) and then finishing strong."
2. With a big new conference affiliation comes big expectations for the Oregon football team in 2024. The Ducks are ranked in the top 10 of The Associated Press preseason top-25 poll for the first time since 2020, and the top five for the first time since 2015.
This year features a new format for the College Football Playoff, with a 12-team field, first-round byes for the top four conference champs and first-round home games for the teams ranked fifth through eighth by the CPF Selection Committee. There's a little more margin for error than Oregon has been accustomed to in years past, but that doesn't mean taking things lightly against Idaho, which led Cal 17-14 at halftime of a game last year, and was tied with WSU at halftime of a 2022 matchup.
"They've been a really competitive team versus good teams, teams that we played," Lanning said. "So they bring their best. They obviously perform up. I think this will be an exciting game for them, but nobody can go to sleep on them. They're talented; they're a good team for a reason."
3. Oregon's leaders will look to set the tone from the start Saturday, including the new starting quarterback Gabriel in his debut with the Ducks. Gabriel arrived in Eugene for spring practice after playing the last two seasons at Oklahoma, after starting his career at Central Florida.
Gabriel needs to throw for 166 yards Saturday to match Ty Detmer for seventh in NCAA history with 15,031 career passing yards; next up at No. 6 will be none other than Bo Nix, at 15,351. Gabriel needs six touchdown passes to reach 131 for his career, which would be tied for fifth in NCAA history.
But Gabriel made clear this week he isn't thinking about personal stats as the season dawns.
"I keep it simple, and it's find a way to win," he said. "I don't care how we do it or what it takes, it's just finding a way to get a 'W' and be plus-one on the scoreboard. That'll be the mindset. Of course there's things you want to be better at within the game to help that you focus on, but I look at that as a huge category in my book. Getting the 'W' is all that matters."
4. Double-digit win totals and bowl-game victories have been the norm in two seasons under Lanning. The Ducks will look to continue those trends in 2024, along with another: elite offensive line play.
Oregon allowed the fewest sacks in the country each of the last two years, five each in both 2022 and 2023. For that trend to continue, the UO offensive line will need to successfully replace the reigning Rimington Trophy winner as the best center in the country, Jackson Powers-Johnson.
Among the candidates is Charlie Pickard, a junior from Portland who joined the Ducks as a non-scholarship recruit out of Jesuit High but has worked himself into contention for a starting spot on the No. 3 team in the country to open this season.
"Anybody can contribute in football," Lanning said. "It's a lot different than other sports. It takes so many people to have a successful team, and guys like that that are able to contribute for us make it special."
5. Saturday's opener should feature several other high-profile UO debuts, from transfers such as receiver Evan Stewart, defensive lineman Derrick Harmon and cornerback Jabbar Muhammad. The Ducks also have returners looking to mature into bigger roles this season, the likes of tight end Kenyon Sadiq, offensive lineman Iapani Laloulu and outside linebacker Teitum Tuioti.
Saturday brings a chance for those players and more to introduce themselves to Oregon fans, or show they're prepared for more high-profile roles moving forward.
"You've got to go prove it every week," Gabriel said. "Logo isn't going to save you nothing; it's all about what you do on the field, and we know that. But I think just as a program we're very clear on preparing as best as we can and going out there and executing."
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