Oregon Ducks Getting 'Respect They Deserve' In Big Ten, Says Running Back Legend

Oregon Ducks legendary running backs Jonathan Stewart and Kenjon Barner reflect on Oregon leaving the Pac-12 Conference for the Big Ten Conference and what that means for the program moving forward.

Oregon football coach Dan Lanning leads his team onto the field before the game against Oregon State at Autzen Stadium Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. / Chris Pietsch/The Register Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

The 2024 college football season feels like a renewal for the long-loved sport. So many things have changed in such a short time; conferences re-aligning, media deal turmoil continuing, the constant shifting of coaches and transfer-portal athletes, and the new frontier of NIL. Everything feels new, and that’s especially clear for the University of Oregon, as this is their first year as a part of the Big Ten Conference after their exit from their former home of the Pac-12 Conference.

For many, this move is bittersweet. The Ducks have been a Pac-12 member for all but five years of the conference’s history from 1915 up to their official welcome to the Big Ten at the beginning of August of this year. The mass-exodus of Pac-12 teams digs a grave for regional conference superpowers, as the “Conference of Champions” will most likely never recover without the departing West Coast brands.

However, some think this move benefits the Ducks in the long run. Those opinions are shared by former Oregon running backs Kenjon Barner and Jonathan Stewart. The two Oregon legends recently paired up to host the “Ducks of a Feather Podcast” benefitting current Oregon athlete NIL funds. They spoke exclusively with Oregon Ducks on Sports Illustrated’s and KOIN 6’s Ally Osborne about the conference changes.

March 14, 2013; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks running back Kenjon Barner catches the football during Oregon pro day at Moshofsky Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports / Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports

“Right now I'm excited about the move,” Barner said. “I love the move. I hate that the Pac-12 went away, but I love that we're in the Big Ten and we can go anywhere else. We're finally in a conference where respect is there.”

A long held stereotype lobbed at the Pac-12 was strength of schedule. Many West Coast football doubters would wager a Pac-12 school’s national ranking felt hollow due to the lack of competition out West. Now that Oregon is in the Big Ten, there’s a chance to show strength towards teams that are nationally highly regarded.

“I'm excited for Oregon to actually be in a conference that garners respect. When you see the Big Ten teams lose  - the Ohio States, the Michigans, the Penn States, there isn’t a far drop off [on the AP Poll] and its because the respect value of playing within the Big Ten. So for Oregon to be in this conference, they'll finally get the respect that they deserve. So I couldn't be happier. I’m very excited about college football,” Barner said.

Oct 27, 2007; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks running back Jonathan Stewart (28) rushes for a touchdown past USC Trojans cornerback Terrell Thomas (28) in the third quarter at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports / Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Stewart has seen many iterations of conferences since his time with the Ducks. During Stewart’s playing days with the green and yellow, the PAC-12 was the PAC-10, as they had yet to induct Colorado and Utah until 2011.

“At first I was shocked,” Stewart said. “I was like, Oh man, this is different. I don't know how I feel about it. But then I went to sleep and then woke up the next day and was like, Oh, it makes all the sense in the world that it was going to happen eventually. But, you know, this is what happens in history. You go back and look at how conferences became, how divisions became. There's addition, there's subtraction. And right now we're in multiplication.”

Now, the Oregon Ducks have an opportunity to break into mainstream football respect. The chance to beat legacy teams like Michigan and Ohio State during the regular season gives nay-sayers less wiggle room to claim the Ducks aren’t a main player in the college football space. Barner highlighted that this move all boils down to opening doors for the Ducks.

“I see, you know, the Big Ten as an opportunity, as basically a, ‘Hey world, We want you to see Oregon for what Oregon has to offer.’ And it was almost the same kind of ceremony when the ‘Joey Heisman’ thing came about. It was basically an opportunity for Oregon to stand on an opportunity which was Joey playing lights out and tapping into different markets of the world. And I say the world because you have Nike going and putting their brand, through a college team, on the billboards in Times Square. So you get literally the world coming through New York during that time and getting what Oregon has to offer. And so now this is just a recurring opportunity for Oregon to just, you know, make a statement,” Stewart said.

You can catch the first episode of the Ducks of a Feather Podcast hosted by Stewart and Barner this Friday. Though the first guest has yet to be revealed, the two former Ducks promise it will be someone the fans will be excited to hear from.

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