No. 8 Oregon is days removed from its first loss of the season and has to travel all the way across the country for its bounce-back opportunity. Rutgers hosts the Ducks in Week 8 for what will be the first all-time matchup between the schools. It is a “welcome to the Big Ten” trip for Oregon, which is set to make its furthest trip east since joining the conference last year. It is also the second venture to the Eastern Time Zone in three games for the Ducks, who in their last road game defeated Penn State in a double-overtime thriller.
Dan Lanning has never lost consecutive games as a head coach. The Ducks’ leader is a perfect 6-0 in games following losses. That is troublesome history for Rutgers as it seeks to pull off one of the biggest upsets in modern program history. The Scarlet Knights have not defeated a top-25 team since 2009.
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Not only would a win in this spot go down in Rutgers history, but it would also snap a three-game skid and give Greg Schiano his first Big Ten victory of the season.
Where to watch Oregon vs. Rutgers live
Date: Saturday, October 18 | Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Location: SHI Stadium — Piscataway, New Jersey
TV: Big Ten Network | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
Oregon vs. Rutgers: Need to know
Ducks look to get right: Oregon’s Week 7 loss came as the result of an uncharacteristic performance on both sides of the ball. The troubles started up front, where the offensive line surrendered six sacks after giving up just one across the five previous games. The Ducks’ running back committee could not get its wheels turning behind that line, either. Jordon Davison, Noah Whittington and Jayden Limar combined for just 103 yards, and quarterback Dante Moore erased a quarter of that production with the sacks he took.
Road warriors: Oregon’s most recent loss away from Autzen Stadium came all the way back in October 2023. The Ducks are on a tear in road games with nine consecutive victories, good for the longest active streak in college football by a significant margin. Baylor’s five straight away wins are the second most, for context on this tremendous run. Traveling to the other side of the country has its challenges, but the demands of the Big Ten did not overwhelm the Ducks over their first year and a half in the league.
The Greek Rifle: It’s a fitting nickname this season for Athan Kaliakmanis, the sixth-most productive passer in college football. His 297.5 yards per game are not the product of some outlier, either; he racked up at least 249 yards in every contest this season, including 330 against an Iowa defense that ranks as one of the stingiest groups in college football. The fourth-year veteran is completing passes at by far a career-best rate and has this offense humming like never before in his stints at both Rutgers and Minnesota.
Taking care of the ball: Few teams in the country protect the rock with as much care as Oregon and Rutgers. They are two of eight teams in the FBS without a lost fumble on the year, and they are tied for sixth nationally in fewest turnovers with three each. The Scarlet Knights will likely need to stay clean in the turnover department in order to pull off an upset. They are 20-2 in turnover-free games since 2020.
Oregon vs. Rutgers prediction, pick
One of the hallmarks of the Lanning era at Oregon is that his Ducks take care of business against overmatched opponents. Upsets are tremendously rare, and more often than not, the Ducks start fast and pile on. That was the case in their first four games of the year, including one against a Big Ten opponent, when they won by an average margin of 41.5 points. Rutgers should be able to move the ball some, but its defense has yet to hold a Big Ten opponent under 31 points. Oregon should get right and do so without much resistance. Pick: Oregon -17.5
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