We're just over a week from the 2025 season wrapping up. But in this day and age, there really isn't an off-season. The ACC released it's schedule yesterday. Today the B1G is set to do the same.

What games are you looking forward to most? What's your expectation for this upcoming season? Last year, most thought the Oregon vs Penn State game was going to be one of the greatest, and it was. But it was a couple weeks later, that we got the real playoff primer. With the 2025 National champion Indiana Hoosiers handing Oregon their first , and up to this date only B1G conference game loss. (Ohio State was a playoff game, as was the Indiana rematch)

https://goducks.com/news/2026/1/24/football-schedule-to-be-announced-tuesday-as-season-ticket-deadlines-for-2026-approach

There is no reason the Oregon at Ohio State game cannot be prime time 7:30pm ET game. I see that as the only possible loss for Oregon in the 2026 regular season. Of course based on my helmet icon the Ohio State at Indiana game will be my favorite. BOTH will be fantastic games to watch.

Autzen Zoo

Oregon 2026 football schedule released, with a couple of...

The Ducks have a single bye in 2026, finishing with eight straight games in a row. The bye comes October 3rd after a September 26 road tilt at USC.

Seems more difficult than this years was. But, then again, OBD should be a whole lot better next year, so up for the challenge.

2 hours ago, iubhounds said:

There is no reason the Oregon at Ohio State game cannot be prime time 7:30pm ET game. I see that as the only possible loss for Oregon in the 2026 regular season. Of course based on my helmet icon the Ohio State at Indiana game will be my favorite. BOTH will be fantastic games to watch.

I’m pretty sure Big Noon will snatch that game up if they’re able.

USC game 4 has the makings to be something special. USC has a new DC and a bunch of freshman that they are hoping to build around.

Meanwhile Oregon should have a lean mean veteran led machine. But it's USC so their offense will be good and we'll be at their house which is always fun to send their fans walking out early. Gotta beat that traffic!

09/26 – @ USC (Trojans at Rutgers week prior)

10/3 – bye

10/10 – UCLA (Bruins also have bye prior)

10/17 – Nebraska (Huskers host Indiana week prior)

10/24 – @ Illinois (Illini have bye week prior)

10/31 – Northwestern (Wildcats host Rutgers week prior)

11/7 – @ Ohio St (tOSU at USC week before)

11/14 – Michigan (UM at MSU week before)

11/21 – @ Michigan St (Spartans host Huskies week prior)

11/28 -  Washington (UW hosts Indiana week before)

Interesting that Oregon and UCLA both have a bye the week prior, so why not schedule the game Oct. 3 instead of Oct. 10? And, put the bye on Oct. 10.

Appears it may be to avoid requiring UCLA to play back-to-back road games. UCLA plays at Maryland Sept. 26.

Northwestern, with Chip Kelly as O-coord, visits Autzen on Oct. 31.

Edited 17 hours ago17 hr by HDuck

A ton of B1G and interesting games! Then the conference championship...

57 minutes ago, MicroBurst61 said:

Autzen Zoo

Oregon 2026 football schedule released, with a couple of...

The Ducks have a single bye in 2026, finishing with eight straight games in a row. The bye comes October 3rd after a September 26 road tilt at USC.

Seems more difficult than this years was. But, then again, OBD should be a whole lot better next year, so up for the challenge.

Sorry for being crass, but this Idle Week sucks! 🤬

Oregon was the only P4 team in 2024 that had to play eight games in a row against P4 competition, and B1G HQ is doing it to OBD again? WT Fugazi!

OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2026

FOOTBALL | @OregonFootball

 

2026 Oregon Football Schedule Announced

EUGENE, Ore. – The Big Ten Conference announced the 2026 Oregon football schedule on Tuesday, with the Ducks set to host seven regular-season games in Autzen Stadium for the fourth year in a row. 

 

The Ducks will open the 2026 season at home against Boise State on Sept. 5, followed by a trip to Oklahoma State on Sept. 12. Oregon will wrap nonconference play with an in-state matchup against Portland State in Autzen Stadium on Sept. 19. 

 

A trip to Los Angeles to face USC will kick off Big Ten play on Sept. 26. Following Oregon's bye week, the Ducks will return to action with back-to-back home games against UCLA (Oct. 10) and Nebraska (Oct. 17). 

 

Oregon's first trip to Illinois since 1993 is scheduled for Oct. 24, with the Ducks then returning home to host Northwestern on Halloween.

 

The final month of the regular season begins with a trip to Ohio State on Nov. 7 that is sure to be one of the premier showdowns of the college football season. Oregon will then host Michigan on Nov. 14 before going to Michigan State on Nov. 21, with the Ducks then wrapping the regular season at home against rival Washington on Nov. 28. 

 

Season ticket holders can renew for the 2026 season and fans can submit 2026 season ticket deposits by visiting www.GoDucks.com/FBTix. The deadline for renewals and deposits is this Friday, Jan. 30. 

 

Current season ticket holders can renew their 2025 seat locations at their discounted loyalty price, ensuring they keep their seats and continue to enjoy priority benefits tied to season ticket loyalty.

Fans who don't currently hold season tickets but want access before the public on-sale in March can get a head start by submitting a season ticket deposit ahead of Friday's deadline. Deposit holders will be eligible to select seats during the seat selection process in late February, ahead of the general public.

 

2026 Oregon Football Schedule

Sept. 5 - Boise State

Sept. 12 - at Oklahoma State

Sept. 19 - Portland State

Sept. 26 - at USC*

Oct. 10 - UCLA*

Oct. 17 - Nebraska*

Oct. 24 - at Illinois*

Oct. 31 - Northwestern*

Nov. 7 - at Ohio State*

Nov. 14 - Michigan*

Nov. 21 - at Michigan State*

Nov. 28 - Washington*

 

Home games at Autzen stadium in bold

1 minute ago, Jon Joseph said:

Sorry for being crass, but this Idle Week sucks! 🤬

Oregon was the only P4 team in 2024 that had to play eight games in a row, and B1G HQ is doing it again? WT Fugazi!

Yeah I noticed that.

Though in truth I think Lanning doesn't do great with bye weeks. His messaging is fantastic on a week to week basis and he seems to kinda like the grind and bloodied up mentally that goes with the week to week.

We lost focus real bad in the bye week before Indiana.

So though not great... It is certainly something that I don't think bothers Lanning so much.

1 minute ago, David Marsh said:

Yeah I noticed that.

Though in truth I think Lanning doesn't do great with bye weeks. His messaging is fantastic on a week to week basis and he seems to kinda like the grind and bloodied up mentally that goes with the week to week.

We lost focus real bad in the bye week before Indiana.

So though not great... It is certainly something that I don't think bothers Lanning so much.

David, I get it. Good point.

I have to pursue other schedules, but is there another B1G title contender with a schedule that would have the conference champion game being their ninth game in a row?

1 hour ago, HDuck said:

09/26 – @ USC (Trojans at Rutgers week prior)

10/3 – bye

10/10 – UCLA (Bruins also have bye prior)

10/17 – Nebraska (Huskers host Indiana week prior)

10/24 – @ Illinois (Illini have bye week prior)

10/31 – Northwestern (Wildcats host Rutgers week prior)

11/7 – @ Ohio St (tOSU at USC week before)

11/14 – Michigan (UM at MSU week before)

11/21 – @ Michigan St (Spartans host Huskies week prior)

11/28 -  Washington (UW hosts Indiana week before)

It's always important to to know who the previous weeks opponent is. If and that's a big IF USC lives up to their usual preseason hype, the Ducks will be in a good position to go into Columbus and get the W. I'm guessing the Trojans will be trojaning it by then though.

1 hour ago, HDuck said:

09/26 – @ USC (Trojans at Rutgers week prior)

10/3 – bye

10/10 – UCLA (Bruins also have bye prior)

10/17 – Nebraska (Huskers host Indiana week prior)

10/24 – @ Illinois (Illini have bye week prior)

10/31 – Northwestern (Wildcats host Rutgers week prior)

11/7 – @ Ohio St (tOSU at USC week before)

11/14 – Michigan (UM at MSU week before)

11/21 – @ Michigan St (Spartans host Huskies week prior)

11/28 -  Washington (UW hosts Indiana week before)

OBD plays at Illinois with the Illini coming off an idle week? With OBD coming off a game against Nebraska. If this is a 9 AM body clock start ...

Having Week 5 off and then playing nine games in a row if OBD plays in the B1G champ game is just wrong.

Ohio State and Michigan back-to-back?

A few of my observations:

As other have noted, we have a very early bye this year (Week 5) along with UCLA. Only Northwestern has an earlier bye (Week 2 yuck). There is only one bye this year for the first time since 2023.

There is no incentive to play in the conference championship game after playing 8 weeks in a row. When conferences were smaller and included divisions, conference championship games were rarely headliner affairs. Now, they are extra playoff games with seemingly no upside (unless you need the automatic bid).

Illinois is the only team that gets extra time before playing Oregon (UCLA and Oregon have the same bye) - much better!!

All non-west coast B1G teams have exactly one road trip to the west coast in 2026. West coast teams will make 3-4 trips back east across two or three time zones.

Ohio St. has a nice trap game at USC prior to hosting OBD and coming off a bye after @ Indiana.

Oregon catches a bit of a break with only three B1G trips back east and we get to play all three west coast teams, but didn't do ourselves a favor with the OOC Oklahoma St. trip. Hope it helps with recruiting.

Edited 15 hours ago15 hr by mikethehiker

42 minutes ago, Charles Fischer said:

Ohio State and Michigan back-to-back?

You could see this coming from 2136 miles away: the distance between B1G HQ in Chicago and Eugene.

And don't forget, the SEC now plays 9 conference games. No more padding wins. Half of the SEC will have an additional loss leading to 2-3 less ranked teams. Perception will finally start matching reality.

1 hour ago, Jon Joseph said:

David, I get it. Good point.

I have to pursue other schedules, but is there another B1G title contender with a schedule that would have the conference champion game being their ninth game in a row?

Probably not.

We're the is outsiders still in year three. We can get the awful schedules and I think Lanning embraces that.

I don't think it's a good thing but I think Lanning is going to spin it into one.

Just pumping some sunshine is all.

5 minutes ago, mikethehiker said:

And don't forget, the SEC now plays 9 conference games. No more padding wins. Half of the SEC will have an additional loss leading to 2-3 less ranked teams. Perception will finally start matching reality.

Still might take a few years...

After all they play in the best conference and now they have to play an additional game they'll need to be ranked even higher! (Insert sarcasm)

Upon further review and after a double vodka and tonic, in 2026, like 2024, Oregon is the only B1G team playing eight B1G games in a row. Whether OBD is the only P4 team playing eight in a row is under further, further, and perhaps another cocktail's review.

That Illinois is off the week before Oregon travels to the Central time zone to play the Illini in front of CFB's largest stadium scoreboard is another B1G slap in the face.

I need to look at the ACC, B12, and SEC conferences, but I will not be surprised if OBD is the only P4 CFB team playing 8-straight, possibly nine in a row if Oregon plays in the 2026 B1G champ game.

Another preseason B1G title contender, Michigan, plays seven B1G games in a row. Indiana, USC, Iowa, Illinois, and UW play six. Ohio State and Penn State play five.

Rob Mullens, where are you? Portland State's on the schedule, and OBD opens with Boise State?

What the Hxxx, blast Boise!

UCLA has a non-conference game with Nevada on Oct. 31. A quick search said that was the latest non-conf non-bowl for UCLA since the first Sat. in November in 1968 when they played Tennessee.

Then, I remembered, UCLA played Fresno State the last game of the regular season in 2024.

Like Oregon, UCLA will have 8 consecutive games after the bye, though one will be non-conf. Nevada.

Northwestern has a bye the second week, then plays 11 straight.

Oklahoma 8 straight after their bye. Syracuse and N. Carolina have 9, and a couple other ACC's have 8 after the bye. There are 3 nine's in the Big 12: BYU, ASU, Kansas.

So, the single bye week this season means more teams will have a long stretch without a bye.

2 hours ago, mikethehiker said:

And don't forget, the SEC now plays 9 conference games. No more padding wins. Half of the SEC will have an additional loss leading to 2-3 less ranked teams. Perception will finally start matching reality.

Yes. And this is the reason many SEC teams are dropping future OOC games vs P4 opponents.

I don't blame the SEC teams for doing so. Check out Indiana's 2025 consumption of cupcakes, rinse and repeat in 2026.

It's plain as can be. You want better OOC games, go with Tony Petitti's automatic qualifier 16-team PO format.

14 hours ago, Charles Fischer said:

A ton of B1G and interesting games! Then the conference championship...

There are a lot of great matchups and on top of that new coaches that looked to be better than the ones they are replacing. My only question is how did Penn State not play IU, Ohio State or Oregon???

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by iubhounds

13 hours ago, Charles Fischer said:

Ohio State and Michigan back-to-back?

IU has the same situation.

That reminds me of a little bit of B10 history. When they had divisions IU would play OSU, Michigan, Penn State and a much better Michigan State team every year. Not really a good way to get over the hump in winning games. Most years they would play at least three of those schools in back to back weeks.

14 hours ago, Jon Joseph said:

David, I get it. Good point.

I have to pursue other schedules, but is there another B1G title contender with a schedule that would have the conference champion game being their ninth game in a row?

This might help. What did Northwestern do to make the B10 scheduler mad? Their bye is the 2nd week of the season.

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by iubhounds

9 hours ago, Jon Joseph said:

Yes. And this is the reason many SEC teams are dropping future OOC games vs P4 opponents.

I don't blame the SEC teams for doing so. Check out Indiana's 2025 consumption of cupcakes, rinse and repeat in 2026.

It's plain as can be. You want better OOC games, go with Tony Petitti's automatic qualifier 16-team PO format.

Actually IU's OOC became easier late in 2023 before Cignetti got there. Tom Allen was trying to save his job so he dropped Louisville who had won the year before. Before Allen could enjoy the fruits of his 2024 OOC schedule change he was fired at the end of the 2023 season with a cupcake schedule on the horizon.

Cig shows up in November 2023. He and the AD wanted 7 home games and at the last minute dropped an away game at UVA in exchange for another cupcake to play at home. 2025 rolls around and Indiana State is on the schedule for two reasons. Their head coach is the son of the winningest coach in IU history, even with a losing record, Bill Mallory. The 2nd reason, their program had been close to bankruptcy in recent years where there was talk of dropping the football program. As a favor financially and as an honor to Mallory they were added on the schedule. In 2026 Indiana State will play at Purdue.

Cig was not going to schedule JMU but to give a team a chance in that conference to do what they beg for, IU scheduled G5 Old Dominion. First play of the season their QB goes for 75 yard TD. Later after the game was wrapped up, their QB did another 70+ yard TD run. That QB transferred to Wisconsin after this past season.

IU use to play Kentucky and Missouri every year on the OOC but years ago when the SEC went to 8 games they both canceled saying they could no longer play teams that were now called P4 teams. IU would usually win those games. When Lee Corse was HC at IU he went to USC, LSU, Arizona, Nebraska and Washington in their OOC games.

Like all schools these OOC games are scheduled way in advance. For those that are always bashing IU easy OOC will be happy to hear that in 2030, after years of asking, Notre Dame decided to play IU home and home but only for two years. They would rather beat up Purdue every year like they have done forever. In today's world there is no reason for IU to play a harder OOC ... yet this year two of those teams won more than 10 games and both played in bowl games.

Here's our analysis of our three biggest takeaways of the Ducks' 2026 schedule release.

Three biggest takeaways from the Ducks' 2026 schedule release