Welcome to the Big Ten? No. 1 Oregon is on the verge of a rare feat: acing its initiation
The race isn't over, but Oregon has run it better than any predecessor or contemporary.
Over the last quarter-century, no team has waltzed into one of college football's power conferences as a new member, beaten the league's heavyweights and walked out undefeated in its debut season. That is, until the Ducks this year. Top-ranked Oregon (11-0, 8-0) is one victory shy of completing a spotless regular season in its first Big Ten campaign. No realignment newcomer has even approached that mark in the last three decades, especially not in the current era of super-sized conferences.
Oregon's 16-13 win at Wisconsin on Saturday night symbolized a season's worth of resolve that often has gone unnoticed, due to the program's high expectations and the decentralized intrigue of the expanded College Football Playoff. Oregon has handled its Big Ten initiation better than any other program, which isn't surprising based on the program's infrastructure and head coach Dan Lanning's track record. Oregon has advantages over teams from previous decades of realignment in the form of its strong name, image and likeness backing, which allowed it to sign difference makers like quarterback Dillon Gabriel , receiver Evan Stewart and defensive tackle Derrick Harmon via the transfer portal. But it has also navigated scheduling potholes that trip up plenty of programs making their first tour of a new league.
The Ducks were given a challenging, yet not overwhelming Big Ten schedule, unlike the gantlet Nebraska received upon arrival 2011. They won decisively when warranted and scrapped out close wins against good teams. Perhaps Oregon needed some fortune in the final seconds of its 32-31 win against Ohio State in October, but it got the win. In Week 2, when the Ducks beat Boise State by a field goal on the game's final snap, they recognized there was work to do. Two months later, that scare from the Group of 5 ranks as a quality win against a likely College Football Playoff participant.
As one of four former Pac-12 teams joining the league this year, Oregon has brought a program in no way defined by finesse or fragility, common put-downs directed at West Coast contenders by fans within the traditional Big Ten footprint. It outrushed Ohio State and its pair of NFL running backs. It pounded defending national champion Michigan 38-17, holding the Wolverines to 270 total yards. It faced a ranked squad in Illinois (now 7-3 and back in the Top 25) and built a 35-3 halftime lead into a 38-9 win.
And Saturday, Oregon proved its mettle in one of the Big Ten's most intimidating environments. Wisconsin's Camp Randall Stadium has a different energy at night, especially compared to those sleepy 11 a.m. kickoffs. The Badgers may not be considered Big Ten contenders, but they were fired up. They forced a red-zone turnover early and led 13-6 in the third quarter, setting the stage for a monumental upset and a signature win for second-year Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell.
There are countless examples of championship-caliber Big Ten teams fading in those situations. But not Oregon, not this time. Why? Because Lanning was willing to be aggressive where others are risk-averse. After giving up a sack on the third quarter's final play, the Ducks opened the fourth quarter facing fourth-and-9 at Wisconsin's 41-yard line. Instead of punting and adding to the Badgers' momentum, Lanning went for the first down. Gabriel scrambled left and found Terrance Ferguson in a small opening for 15 yards. Three plays later, running back Jordan James burst into the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown to tie the score.
Two possessions later with the score still even, Oregon ran seven straight times at the Badgers' defense. The drive culminated in a field goal that ultimately proved to be the difference.
Had Wisconsin forced an incompletion while leading by a touchdown to start the final 15 minutes, it could have closed in on the upset. Instead, Lanning's gamble won Oregon more than just a road victory; it sewed up at least a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship.
"We knew there were limited possessions, and I just felt like we needed to be able to create that spark," Lanning told NBC's Kathryn Tappen after the game. "It's an unbelievable play by Dillon and a great job by Terrance in scramble mode."
So, how unprecedented would it be if Oregon's ran the table in its Big Ten debut? Not since Florida State in 1992 has a power-conference newcomer finished its inaugural campaign unbeaten. And the Seminoles had opted for the ACC over an SEC invitation based on their ability to dominate in football at that time.
Previously in the Big Ten, there was Nebraska, which won the 2012 Legends Division crown with a 7-1 conference record in its second season. Then the Huskers lost 70-31 in the Big Ten championship to Wisconsin, which qualified as the third-place team in the Leaders Division because of NCAA sanctions that barred Penn State and Ohio State from the postseason. Penn State finished undefeated in 1994, but it was the Nittany Lions' second season.
In the SEC, Missouri claimed the league's geographically challenged East Division title at 7-1 in 2013, also its second season. The Tigers lost to Auburn 59-42 in the SEC championship game. This year, Texas has a chance to earn an SEC title appearance in its inaugural campaign, but the Longhorns lost earlier this season to Georgia.
In 2004, Virginia Tech won the ACC in its first year with a 7-1 record, but there was no conference championship game. Utah built itself into a competitive Pac-12 squad throughout the 2010s but didn't claim a division title until 2018. TCU finished 8-1 alongside Baylor in 2014, its third Big 12 season, but the Horned Frogs lost to the Bears during the regular season and there was no Big 12 championship game.
So, what Oregon has done is both unprecedented and underrated. As Big Ten eyes fixate on Indiana 's incredible rise and the unbeaten Hoosiers' showdown with Ohio State, the Ducks keep winning. While the rest of the nation discusses which SEC team could get left out of the Playoff, the Ducks quietly dismantle their opponents. Hypothetical Big Ten championship game tiebreakers are worthwhile mid-November banter, but none of them apply to Oregon because it hasn't lost.
There's one more regular-season game remaining, and it's a big one. The Ducks face rival Washington at home in the season finale on Nov. 30. Sure, there's history at stake for Oregon but also, there's history at stake. It's the teams' 116th meeting, and the Huskies (6-5, 4-4) won both meetings — including the Pac-12 championship — last year en route to the CFP title game. Washington, of course, would love nothing more than to blemish the Ducks' resume.
That's what's perfect about this season for Oregon and the sport. As much as uncertainty hangs over college football's future, a new arrival in a coast-to-coast 18-team league can fuel its present by leaning into its past. All it needs to finish the race and write a fresh narrative for the conference's western is beat its most-hated rival. Then it'd be on to writing another, even more memorable, chapter.
(Photo: John Fisher / )
