Oregon baseball reacts to Eugene Regional that includes Oregon State
Oregon baseball coach Mark Wasikowski and infielder Drew Smith react to in-state rival Oregon State being put in the Eugene NCAA Regional this week.
- The Oregon Ducks are projected as a top-10 team in most preseason college football rankings for the 2026 season.
- Junior quarterback Dante Moore is considered a contender for the Heisman Trophy with +1200 odds.
- The Ducks’ schedule features a difficult November with games against Ohio State, Michigan and Washington.
The countdown until Oregon kicks off its college football season reaches 100 days May 29.
The Ducks will open the 2026 season against Boise State at Autzen Stadium Sept. 5 with big expectations — both from those who work inside the Hatfield Dowlin Complex and those watching from home.
Let’s take stock of Oregon and where things stand as the team prepares to head into the summer for some time off before reconvening in late July for Big Ten media day followed right after with the start of fall camp.
Where is Oregon football projected in the preseason rankings?
Universally the Ducks find themselves inside the top 10 with many rankings having Oregon in the top five.
Here’s a sampling of spring rankings from various outlets.
- USA Today: 1, Ohio State. No. 2 Notre Dame. No. 3 Texas. No. 4 Georgia. No. 5 Indiana. … No. 8 Oregon
- Sports Illustrated: No. 1 Ohio State. No. 2 Oregon. No. 3 Georgia. No. 4 Notre Dame. No. 5 Texas.
- ESPN: No. 1 Ohio State. No. 2 Oregon. No. 3 Georgia. No. 4 Notre Dame. No. 5 Texas.
- Josh Pate: No. 1 Notre Dame. No. 2 Texas. No. 3 Oregon. No. 4 Ohio State. No. 5 Miami.
- CBSSports.com: 1, Ohio State. No. 2 Texas. No. 3 Oregon. No. 4 Notre Dame. No. 5 Georgia.
Will Dante Moore be a Heisman Trophy finalist?
The Ducks won’t know what their December will look like until the season gets going, but their junior quarterback could have a trip to New York in his future.
Moore has the fifth-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy in the latest BetMGM odds. Moore’s odds are +1200, the same as Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover and Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith.
Notre Dame QB CJ Carr and Texas QB Arch Manning are the early favorites at +750. Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss is next at +900, followed by Buckeyes QB Julian Sayin at +1100.
What is the Oregon football 2026 schedule?
- September: 5 – Boise State, 12:30 p.m. PT. 12 – at Oklahoma State, 9 a.m. PT. 18 – Portland State, 7:30 p.m. PT. 26 – at Southern California, TBD.
- October: 3 – Bye week. 10 – UCLA, TBD. 17 – Nebraska, TBD. 24 – at Illinois, TBD. 31 – Northwestern, TBD.
- November: 7 – at Ohio State, TBD. 14 – Michigan, TBD. 20 – at Michigan State, 5 p.m. PT. 28 – Washington, TBD.
What are the highlights of Oregon football’s 2026 schedule?
How the Ducks perform in November will dictate their College Football Playoff fate. A game against the Buckeyes in Columbus and two at home against Michigan and Washington – three teams projected to be in contention for a spot in the playoffs – is a supremely difficult way to end a long season.
But with apologies for the coach speak, Oregon can’t afford to look ahead to November because navigating September could be challenging as well.
The Ducks are 1-3 all-time against Boise State, with that one win coming in 2024 at home in a game Oregon needed scores on punt and kickoff returns, and then a late fourth-quarter field goal to win 37-34.
The Oklahoma State team the Ducks will face in Stillwater is not the same team Oregon beat 69-3 in Autzen Stadium last fall. The Cowboys have a new coach in Eric Morris, who came from North Texas. Morris brought with him QB Drew Mestemaker, who led the nation with 4,379 passing yards and was second nationally with 34 touchdown passes.
The month ends in Los Angeles with the Big Ten opener against rejuvenated and loaded USC in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Chris Hansen covers University of Oregon football, men’s basketball, track and field, cross country and softball for The Register-Guard. You can reach him at chansen@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @chansen_RG
