Ranking Ducks games we can't wait to watch in 2026
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The 2026 season for the Oregon Ducks is over seven months away, but it’s hard for fans not to get excited with the schedule being released on Tuesday.
While the early-season schedule has been known and the Big Ten opponents and sites of games had been known as well, we now know the official schedule of the Ducks‘ 2026 season and the exact path they they hope to take on their way to claiming the program’s first national title.
Every game is very important if Oregon wants to reach their goals, but there are a number of games that will hold more weight as we currently look at the schedule.
The Week 2 bout against the Oklahoma State Cowboys, which months ago looked to be an easy victory, has suddenly turned into a game with two high-powered offenses thanks to a head coach change and a bevy of incoming transfers. Just three weeks later, the Ducks will travel to the LA Memorial Coliseum to take on the USC Trojans — who also have a high-powered, high-flying offense. To finish the season, Oregon will host the Michigan Wolverines and travel to the Ohio State Buckeyes, both marking firsts as Big Ten foes.
Clearly, there’s a lot to get excited about. So, as an offseason exercise, we ranked each of the Ducks’ 12 scheduled games during the 2026 regular season in terms of our excitement — in other words, we can’t wait to watch them and we know you can’t either, Duck fans.
Let’s get into it.
12) Home vs. Portland State Vikings (Week 3)
Date: Sept. 19
There’s not a lot of intrigue here, especially given that it’s not even the home-opener. In 2025, at least the matchup against Montana State kicked off the season and was against an FCS title contender. The Vikings are most certainly not that, as they went 1-11 last season. This one will be ugly, and I’d be surprised if Dante Moore sees the field after halftime. A small consolation prize for that: Dylan Raiola‘s potential Ducks debut! Otherwise, this is by far the least exciting game on Oregon’s schedule and not one to particularly look forward to.
11) Away vs. Michigan State Spartans (Week 12)
Date: Nov. 21
The Spartans aren’t projected to be good next season, with this likely being a Ducks win with ease. Former Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith being Michigan State’s head coach powered some intrigue for 2024’s matchup in Eugene between these teams, but he was fired in December after another disappointing campaign in East Lansing. Though it is a Big Ten matchup, there’s little storylines to pull from this game and, therefore, little intrigue at this point.
10) Home vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers (Week 7)
Date: Oct. 17
If Moore happens to miss time with an injury and Raiola is forced to start, this game would surge up the list. But assuming the Ducks’ starting passer stays healthy, this contest barely makes the top 10. The Cornhuskers have been mediocre during head coach Matt Rhule’s tenure and didn’t do much during the offseason to change that. It is a home game, barely nudging it over Michigan State.
9) Home vs. Boise State (Week 1)
Date: Sept. 5
Last time these two teams met, Oregon escaped with a game-winning field goal in the final seconds as Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty ran all over the Ducks to the tune of 192 yards and three touchdowns. But with no Jeanty and no other standouts in particular, the main pull here is that it’s the home-opener. Fans will have waited over eight months to see their Ducks at Autzen Stadium and anticipation will be high. Considering the opponent, though, I have a hard time putting this any higher. It will be Oregon’s first Big Ten versus modern PAC-12 bout ever, but that’s more an interesting footnote than anything.
8) Away vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (Week 8)
Date: Oct. 24
Something about Illinois football just doesn’t quite get the juices flowing. It just doesn’t scream “exciting” — or anything relatively close to that. The Fighting Illini might grind out eight or nine wins like they always do under head coach Bret Bielema, and they might put up a fight for a few quarters against the Ducks, but they shouldn’t pose a significant threat. The quality of the opponent is the only reason that Illinois is this high.
7) Home vs. Northwestern Wildcats (Week 9)
Date: Oct. 31
The main (and really only) interesting note about this game is Chip Kelly’s return to Autzen Stadium on Halloween. The former Oregon head coach was named Northwestern’s offensive coordinator in December and may deploy his up-tempo offense with the Wildcats. This game probably won’t be close, but Kelly should receive a nice ovation and, as Duck fans know, his offense should be a fun watch.
6) Home vs. UCLA Bruins (Week 6)
Date: Oct. 10
This one comes with a bit of a projection, as the Bruins went 3-9 last season and got demolished in most of their Big Ten games. But under former James Madison head coach Bob Chesney and with a rejuvenated quarterback in Nico Iamaleava and JMU transfer running back Wayne Knight, UCLA should be much better in 2026. That, with the lore of hosting a historic program of UCLA’s ilk, puts them in the top half of these rankings.
5) Home vs. Washington (Week 13)
Date: Nov. 28
This is always a game that Ducks fans will get up for. And with quarterback Demond Williams Jr. back and starting his third career game against Oregon and still looking for his first win, Autzen will be rocking. This game being the final one of the regular season also adds to the intrigure, as the Huskies will likely be looking to knock the Ducks out of the CFP or even sneak into it themselves.
4) Away vs. Oklahoma State (Week 2)
Date: Sept. 12
Six weeks ago, this home-and-home that was scheduled years in advance appeared to be two easy wins for the Ducks after they dismantled the Cowboys 69-3 last season. But since then, the Cowboys hired North Texas head coach Eric Morris with Mean Green quarterback Drew Mestemaker, running back Caleb Hawkins and wide receiver Wyatt Young along with a bevy of other standouts following their coach to Oklahoma State. Suddenly, this looks like a frisky early-season top-25 matchup in a road setting for the Ducks.
3) Away vs. USC Trojans (Week 4)
Date: Sept. 26
Two of the top passers in the conference in Moore and USC’s Jayden Maiava was fun in 2025 (563 passing yards and five touchdowns combined) and should be even more fun in 2026. There are playmakers galore on both sides of the ball for both teams. Expect this to be a high-scoring slugfest at the LA Memorial Coliseum — one of the more famous stadiums in America.
2) Home vs. Michigan Wolverines (Week 11)
Date: Ot. 14
This represents the first time that the Ducks and Wolverines will meet in Eugene as Big Ten foes, with both likely to be highly-ranked at the time of the matchup. Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood is a dark-horse Heisman Trophy candidate while their defense is always tough. If Oregon is to have a storybook season in 2026, they’ll have to have a strong showing at home against Michigan in which Duck fans will surely show up and be as loud as can be.
1) Away vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (Week 10)
Date: Nov. 7
Is there any other contender? Ohio State and Oregon have formed a bit of a rivalry during the 2020’s, with the Ducks downing the Buckeyes on the road in 2021 before splitting during the 2024 season, with the victory coming at Autzen. Now, the Ducks will try to recreate the magic from 2021 and win at The Shoe. If Oregon is a bona-fide title contender, this is the game that they show it. Kicking off the November slate of the Ducks’ schedule, this one is sure to hold a lot of weight regarding potential CFP seeding.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Ranking Ducks games we can’t wait to watch in 2026
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