Ahead of the Oregon Ducks' first-ever appearance in the Big Ten Championship game, former star running back Kenjon Barner had high praise for his old team. Beyond the fact that the Ducks finished the regular season at 12-0 and are the No. 1 team in the country, Barner truly believes this could be Oregon's national title-contending team.
"This is a physical program, this isn't your typical Oregon football team," Barner said on the Big Ten Network just a day before the Ducks faced the No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions in the conference championship. "Oregon has never seen a team like this in the history of football."
"Oregon has never seen a team like this in the history of football."@KBDeuce4 discusses what makes @oregonfootball such a dominant program 👇
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 6, 2024
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Barner went on to discuss how big, how physical, and how dominant the Ducks have been throughout the season so far.
"This is a team that wants to lead with their physicality... Never mind the glitz, the glamour," Barner said. "They have the speed but this is a physical team, that's what they lay their hat on – being physical, being able to take control of the game, whether it's offensively or defensively, right there on the line."
Barner is right. Oregon hasn't been this close to a National Championship in decades. Not since Heisman-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota was at the helm of the program. This year just feels different though.
As the Ducks, led by head coach Dan Lanning and quarterback Dillon Gabriel, storm into Indianapolis for the conference title game, they will need to lean into their physical nature, their dominance, and their absolute unwillingness to lose.
The No. 1 Oregon Ducks and the No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions are scheduled to kick off at 4:00 p.m. PT on CBS.