Ranking Oregon football's 2024 opponents by toughness
The wait is finally over and Oregon football returns in just about 24 hours.
The Ducks will open the 2024 season against Idaho in a matchup that used to be an annual rivalry back before 1970, but the two have only faced each other four times since.
Following the Idaho game, Oregon has one of the toughest schedules in the country, according to ESPN. The Ducks will face some stiff competition in the Big Ten and while there are only two preseason ranked teams on the slate, there are some tricky matchups both at home and away.
Here's my ranking of opponents' toughness for the 2024 season.
Opponent | Rank |
|---|---|
No. 2 Ohio State | 1 |
at No. 9 Michigan | 2 |
at Wisconsin | 3 |
Washington | 4 |
Boise State | 5 |
Maryland | 6 |
at Oregon State | 7 |
at UCLA | 8 |
Michigan State | 9 |
at Purdue | 10 |
Illinois | 11 |
Idaho | 12 |
When it's written down, the schedule seems very winnable from top to bottom. The Ducks' toughest game is in Week 7 against Ohio State and it happens to be a home game. That could very well be a battle of top-three teams or it may even be No. 1 vs. No. 2.
After that home game against the Buckeyes, Oregon gets matchups at Michigan and at Wisconsin in November and another tough game is the finale against Washington. The four toughest games of the season, in my opinion, come in the final seven games. That means that this schedule is incredibly backloaded.
In my opinion, last year's non-conference slate was a little tougher with a road game against Texas Tech in Week 2. Boise State will present a tough test this year, however, along with Oregon State on the road.
If Oregon can beat Michigan and Ohio State, there's a strong chance that this team goes undefeated in the regular season. It just has to avoid slip-ups against the likes of Oregon State, Wisconsin, and Washington.