Last year at Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis, the Ducks made an immediate splash in their new conference by setting up a giant inflatable Duck outside NCAA Headquarters.
Always on offense, the progrum announced loud and proud "We're here," then proceeded to win 13 straight games and win the conference championship in their first year in the league, becoming the first team to beat Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State in one season since Michigan State did it in 2015.
It happens that Northwestern, Oregon's opponent on Saturday, 9 a.m. PT on Fox, is playing its home games this year at Martin Stadium, the home of Wildcats soccer, which overlooks Lake Michigan. The stadium only seats 12,000, so it'd spice things up a little (plus create a striking visual for Big Noon Kickoff, the Fox college football pregame show) if the Ducks brought the inflatable version of their iconic mascot to the Great Lakes.
Northwestern's lakeside stadium feels like the perfect location for Oregon to break out the giant inflatable duck again. pic.twitter.com/4kkRbeZOic
— Eric Hovland (@EricJHovland) September 10, 2025
Oregon is a 27.5-point favorite in the game, so it might seem bad manners to upstage the hosts with an outsized symbol, but it seems all but a few fans and players would take it in the way that it's intended, just having fun on a college football Saturday.
It's possible that head coach David Braun or some hot-headed linebacker might use it to fire up his team, manufacturing disrespect the way the Ducks did over Mike Gundy's comments. Still, it seems worth the risk.
It'd make a lot of people chuckle, and the video would likely lead the highlight packages and Sunday conversation.
As for bulletin board material, Duck guard Emmanuel Pregnon has already served that up, although not intentionally.
The mentality of the Oregon Offensive Line right now: pic.twitter.com/Obgrku3rsB
— ☘️LegalizeQuack☘️ (@Legalize_Quack) September 9, 2025
Seems clear enough. Might as well float the Duck.