Ducks Crash Heavyweight Ranks With Ferocious Start

If there were any lingering doubts about whether Oregon belongs among college football’s heavyweights, the Ducks have opened the season with the subtlety of a belching orc, mercilessly collecting pelts to improve 2-0 heading into their first conference game. These ain’t your grandpappy’s Men of Oregon — these are Odin’s berserkers reveling in the spoils of their plunder.

I’m not the only one who thinks the Ducks are all brisket, no filler.

Legendary college football coach and analyst Urban Meyer stamped the Ducks this week as a “blue-blood” program, citing Oregon coach Dan Lanning’s overhaul of the trenches.

“Their offensive and defensive lines are legit now,” Meyer said on Fox Sports, noting the average size has climbed from under 300 pounds a decade ago to nearly 320. “You stick them in the SEC or the Big Ten, they’re as good as any team in the country.”

The Ducks (2-0) have looked the part. Quarterback Dante Moore is completing 76% of his passes for 531 yards and six touchdowns through two games, while the defense has allowed just one touchdown. Oregon throttled Montana State 59-13 in the opener and then embarrassed embattled Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State 69-3, racking up 631 yards and scoring nine different ways, including back-to-back pick-sixes. Gundy’s pre-game remarks about the Ducks’ NIL spending only served as yule logs on the hobo bonfire that is now his coaching career.

The Oregon Ducks gang tackle during their 69-3 rout of Oklahoma State. Photo by Max Unkrich

FOX analyst Joel Klatt went as far as to say this group “is absolutely a team that can win it all,” comparing the Ducks to Michigan and Ohio State of recent vintage. As a fan who, for decades, has watched Oregon be the bridesmaid, never the bride, I’m hesitant to jump on the bandwagon. It’s still early for all the kissy-kissy national title talk on Makeout Mountain, but darn if this team looks different.

Next up: a Big Ten opener Saturday at Northwestern, where the Ducks will trade Autzen’s 54,000-seat roar for a lakefront oddity and glorified lacrosse field. The Wildcats are playing at 12,023-seat Martin Stadium on the shore of Lake Michigan while their new $862 million Ryan Field is under construction. If a body washes ashore, don’t touch it and call 911. Please leave the stadium promptly to allow staff to prepare for the nightcap round-robin pickleball tournament.

The Ducks, as usual, will look sharp when they fly to the Windy City to pants the Wildcats for Big Noon Kickoff. Oregon unveiled another new uniform combo this week — yellow helmets (sans stripe) with green facemasks, white jerseys, and yellow pants.

While the Ducks’ young, talented and just plain nasty roster shows the world that it’s ready to rumble with all comers, there is a little drama on the recruiting trail as Lanning looks to stock the meat locker in Eugene. Five-star offensive tackle Immanuel Iheanacho, a 6-foot-7, 350-pound behemoth from Maryland, is still being courted hard by LSU despite his summer commitment to Oregon.

“Oregon had the best people, the best like-minded people,” Iheanacho said after his decision.

The Tigers will host him Saturday, but Lanning has already sold him on a future that includes early playing time and the chance to follow former Duck Josh Conerly to the NFL’s first round.

The Ducks celebrate a touchdown during last Saturday’s 69-3 victory over Oklahoma State at Autzen Stadium. Photo by Max Unkrich

The program also closed the book on harried wideout Jurrion Dickey, a one-time five-star signee whose Oregon career ended with one catch for seven yards in 15 appearances. Dickey transferred to Diablo Valley College after a suspension for violating team rules.

“We’ve got two team rules: be respectful and be on time,” Lanning said. “We needed a break from each other.”

The departure hasn’t slowed Oregon’s rise into the playoff conversation, nor have they dimmed the spotlight on Moore, who could be the Ducks’ best quarterback since Marcus Mariota (too soon?) With the Ducks outscoring opponents by 112 points and sitting at +800 to win the national championship, this Big Ten road trip is less about survival and more about style points. I’ll take the over that at least eight Northwestern players will leave the field in tears.

Moore, for his part, isn’t just winning games — he’s winning the respect of the entire Big Ten. In SI’s conference quarterback power rankings after Week 2, Moore checked in at No. 3, behind only Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and USC’s Jayden Maiava. Moore’s 77% completion rate and 10.9 yards per attempt trail only Sayin’s conference-best accuracy (79.5%) and Maiava’s absurd 16.8 yards per throw. It’s rare air for a sophomore starter, and Moore appears ready for his chance to take the Ducks to the Promised Land.

Kickoff against Northwestern is set for noon ET on FOX (Yes, that’s 9 a.m. for West Coast fans) with Big Noon Kickoff broadcasting live from the shores of Lake Michigan.

Jordan Ingram

Jordan is a lifelong Duck fan currently living in San Diego. Jordan graduated from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, after serving a prestigious fellowship with the Washington State House of Representatives.  Upon graduation, he worked as an English language teaching assistant for the Spanish Ministry of Education’s Ambassadorial Program in Monforte de Lemos, Spain.  Jordan has worked as a journalist, writer, and editor in Oregon, Washington, Montana, and California, covering a wide range of topics, including sports, local politics, and crime. He is VERY excited to be writing about his beloved Oregon Ducks.