Oregon transfers model traditional uniform look for first CFP game

It was like to say, they're one of us now, We're in this battle together.

For the weekly uniform reveal for James Madison at Oregon, the Ducks' first-round game in the College Football Playoff, Saturday at 4:30 p.m. PT from Autzen Stadium, televised on TNT, truTV and HBO Max, the video team chose transfers Jadon Canaday, Bear Alexander and Jamari Johnson to show off the new look.

It's a uniform combination to make traditionalists smile. Saturday the Ducks will come out in green helmets with yellow wings and a green facemask, green jerseys with yellow numerals, yellow pants, green and yellow shoes. The Dukes will wear white with white helmets and purple numerals, a sharp, pleasing contrast. Fans are asked to wear green.

The Nike shoes are green and yellow, the fast, light, durable cleats first envisioned by legendary track coach Bill Bowerman, shoes built for performance.

There's a College Football Playoff patch on the left above the numbers, two Ducks in flight on the back of the helmet, a quiet tribute to Spencer Webb and Khyree Jackson. Jackson played on the team in 2023 and died in a car crash in July 2024. Webb was killed in a climbing accident on July 13. 2022.

A new look anticipates a standing challenge

Thirty-six hours ahead of the game the Ducks are three-touchdown favorites. The weather forecast has steadily darkened, calling now for evening temperatures of 40 degrees, winds 6-8 mph from the southeast, and a 65 percent chance of rain.

He's just been a head coach for four years, but Dan Lanning has never won a playoff game as head coach, though he's 47-6 at Oregon and won a national championship as defensive coordinator at Georgia before coming to the Ducks.

With one more win, he'll pass Chip Kelly's record of 47-6, which is the best percentage at Oregon for a coach who has won more than four games. If he returns next year as expected he'll be the first Duck head coach since Mike Bellotti to serve five or more years.

Both the continuity and the excellence are rare in college football. It took Nick Saban 14 years to win his first national championship.