Oregon Ducks Football 2024 Schedule: Most Winnable Big Ten Home Games

The Oregon Ducks 2024 football season is just a couple of weeks away with several non-conference games. Their conference home schedule starts on October 2nd. Which Oregon home games are the most winnable?

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning speaks during Oregon football’s media day Monday, July 29, 2024 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Oregon coach Dan Lanning is preparing a talented football team that looks to challenge for a Big Ten championship and a berth in the expanded College Football Playoff. With the 2024 season about two weeks away, this is a good time to look at the schedule and identify winnable games as well as games that present more of a challenge. Let’s start with the most winnable conference home games in order of the schedule.

WINNABLE: The Ducks host the Michigan State Spartans on October 4

These teams have played seven times with Oregon winning four and Michigan State three. The last meeting was a defensive struggle that ended in a 7-6 win for the Ducks. This next meeting is likely to be a higher scoring affair given the explosiveness of Oregon’s offense. One twist in this game is that the Ducks will face a coach they’ve seen before, Jonathan Smith, former coach of the Oregon State Beavers. Ranking wise and Per ESPN’s College Football’s Power Index (FPI), the Spartans are projected as 17 in the conference. Despite the familiarity Smith may have regarding Oregon, we see this as a most winnable contest for the Ducks.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning talks with Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith as the No. 6 Oregon Ducks take on the No. 16 Oregon State Beavers Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

WINNABLE: Oregon hosts Illinois on October 26th

Oregon has played the Fighting Illini only three times with the first game way back in 1970 and the last in 1995. The Ducks have won two games and Illinois one. Illinois has a storied history as they are a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and can claim five national championships and 15 Big Ten championships. However, none of those titles were earned recently.

Illinois’ coach is Bret Bielema who has had success in the Big Ten during a stint as head coach in Wisconsin before stops in Arkansas and the NFL. He was hired at Illinois in December 2020 and has posted only one winning season. Additionally, Illinois is 16 in the Big Ten’s FPI. However, coach Bielema is excited about the conference expansion and looking forward to playing Oregon.

Jul 25, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach ??Dan Lanning speaks to the media during the Big 10 football media day at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

"Really, really excited for our conference," Bielema told the press on media day. "I know a lot of people have different views on expansion, but for me, as a head coach, I'm looking at a schedule this year where I play a game on the East Coast against Rutgers and Penn State, and then we play a game on the West Coast against Oregon. We play a game in the middle of our stadium, in Memorial Stadium, against Michigan for our 100-year anniversary game.” 

Despite his enthusiasm, it is unlikely that the Fighting Illini can keep up with the Ducks at Autzen stadium. This is another winnable game for Oregon.

WINNABLE: November 9 matchup between Oregon and Maryland

The Ducks and Terrapins have not met on the football field and this could be an interesting matchup. Consider that the Ducks will be coming off their November 2 battle against Michigan in the Big House. A letdown after such a marquee matchup is entirely possible, although coach Lanning will do whatever it takes to have his team ready to take on Maryland.

The Terrapins were members of the Atlantic Coast Conference for 62 years before joining the Big Ten in 2014. However, Maryland has yet to post a winning conference record, finishing 2023 with a 4-5 record. Overall, the Terrapins finished 2023 with an 8-5 record and a 31-13 victory over Auburn in the Magic City Bowl, generating some enthusiasm for the upcoming season.

A major focus for six-year coach Mike Locksley is to find a quarterback to replace four-year starter Taulia Tagovailoa. His ability to find a replacement is likely to define the season for the Terps. On the plus side, Maryland boasts a top 20 defensive backfield. They return three players who were on the field for 300 snaps or more and signed cornerback Jalen Huskey from the transfer portal. Additionally, Maryland is rated as 8 in the Big Ten’s FPI.

This could prove to be a closer ballgame than many anticipate. The fact that Oregon has a highly rated defense and the game is in Eugene tells us what we need to know. As such, put another game in the win column for the Ducks.

Next, we will look at Oregon’s schedule and find three of the most winnable road games.

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