In 2025, the Oregon football schedule includes no Friday games or short weeks, no back-to-back road games, a bye before hosting Indiana in October and a bye before a road trip to Iowa in November.
They miss Ohio State, Illinois and MIchigan in conference play. No Big Ten schedule is perfect, but this one is perfectly balanced, manageable from a coaching standpoint, nearly ideal with the spacing of the byes with seven home games and five on the road.
Oregon football Regular Season 2025
Sat, Aug 30 vs Montana State
Sat, Sep 6 vs Oklahoma State
Sat, Sep 13 @ Northwestern
Sat, Sep 20 vs Oregon State
Sat, Sep 27 @ Penn State
Sat, Oct 11 vs Indiana
Sat, Oct 18 @ Rutgers
Sat, Oct 25 vs Wisconsin
Sat, Nov 8 @ Iowa
Sat, Nov 15 vs Minnesota
Sat, Nov 22 vs USC
Sat, Nov 29 @ Washington
The Ducks have four games, three at home before what's widely acknowledged as their toughest test, the road clash at Happy Valley against ESPN post-spring No. 1 Penn State.
That's likely to be a Top 5/Top 10 matchup, a rematch of the Big Ten Championship, a Big Noon Kickoff Game or a White Out at Night. College Game Day might come.
It's a premier showdown, the kind that dots the college football schedule in the opening weeks with Texas hosting Ohio State on August 30 or LSU traveling to Clemson that same night, primetime on ABC.
Sunday August 31, Notre Dame meets Miami at Hard Rock Stadium.
Fans want to see more matchups like these, yet USC is talking about ending their historic rivalry with Notre Dame.
Getting back to Oregon, every game requires focus. The Ducks shouldn't overlook Montana State, which played for the FCS Championship last season.
Dan Lanning will surely remind them how close the Ducks came to losing versus Idaho, Boise State and Wisconsin a year ago, all close games going into the fourth quarter.
The pinch points this season are several. It's a (relatively) soft landing at the beginning with Oklahoma State, Northwestern and Oregon State coming off losing seasons, all expected to repeat in bottom half of college football again.
Their first road game is a dry run. Though Preston Stone will test Oregon's new secondary, Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium is hardly an intimidating road environment. The home to Wildcat lacrosse and soccer, it seats 12,023.
It allows Lanning and the staff to introduce their younger players to the travel routine while playing in a stadium where they'll have to create their own energy, in a picturesque setting on the shores of Lake Michigan before a tiny crowd.
By the time they have to face the Nittany Lions, the offensive line will have had time to gel and become a unit, and Dante Moore (hopefully) has settled in as a starting quarterback. Still, a loud, hostile setting like Beaver Stadium will be a bit of a shock.
By November 8th at Iowa this should be a veteran team with a well-established identitiy, though a night game in Iowa City (the time hasn't been set yet) remains a daunting prospect. Hawkeye fans hopes for South Dakota State transfer Mark Gronowski are as tall as the Midwest corn at harvest.
Gronowski won two FCS Championships with the Jackrabbits, throwing for 8,811 passing yards and 81 touchdowns with another 1,599 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns. He's 6-3, 230 and a two-time championship game MVP, 2023 winner of the Walter Payton Award.
He's the best quarterback they've had at Iowa since Brad Banks or Chuck Long. The thought of pairing IU's traditionally physical defense with a real offense feels a little terrifying for the rest of the conference. It might make them a playoff team.
Winning that game on the road would further cement Dan Lanning's growth and reputation as a top head coach, while putting the Ducks on track for a return trip to the Big Ten Championship game.
The task is simple, never to be confused with easy. Injuries or inattention get you tripped up. Indiana comes to Autzen in October with most of their starters back and a new quarterback in Fernando Mendoza.
The Hoosiers might not duplicate last year's Cinderella run, but Curt Cignetti has instilled a new toughness and changed the culture, no longer an easy out for anyone. The long trip to Rutgers follows.
In late November everybody is banged up. At USC they're talking about a resurgence with longtime NFL assistant Rob Ryan overhauling the pass rush and defense, Jayden Maiava entering his second year as the Trojan's quarterback after ending the year with a bowl win and 11 touchdowns in the last four games.
After Thanksgiving the Ducks renew the Cascade Rivalry with Washington in Seattle, a place where Dan Lanning has yet to win, an opponent he's only beaten once.
After spring practice Dawg fans brim with new confidence in the summer trash talk, believing that the offensive combination of quarterback Demond Williams, 1,000-yard rusher Jonah Coleman and big-play receiver Denzel Boston makes them a potential playoff team. We'll see.
On the pocket schedule or the refrigerator magnet version, it looks like 11 wins. But none of them are easy or automatic. Ultimately, a team is only as good as its preparation, discipline and attention to detail. There's plenty of talent to work with, and Lanning will push them.