An early look at the Oregon Ducks’ 2023 football schedule
The 2022 football season is behind the Oregon Ducks. While a long offseason stands between fans and more football in Autzen Stadium, that doesn’t mean we can’t start to look forward.
To start, we wanted to take an early look at the Ducks’ schedule in 2023 and highlight some of the biggest games and most important spots for Oregon to start setting their focus. Of course, the final order and dates of the Pac-12 games have not been released, so beyond the nonconference schedule, all we have is the opponents the Ducks will face next season.
That’s still more than enough for us to go with, allowing us to take an early look at who Oregon will be facing in 2023, providing a narrative, and setting the stage for the coming matchups as we start a slow build until next season.
Saturday, Sept. 2, vs. Portland State Vikings
James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Location
Autzen Stadium | Eugene, Oregon
Series Record
Oregon leads the overall series, 62-14.
Setting the way-too-early stage
The prospect of starting your season with a game against Portland State rather than the likes of Georgia is certainly pleasant, all due respect to the Vikings. After losing the season opener, 49-3, a year ago, it will be nice for Oregon fans to ease into the 2023 season with a home game in which they will likely enter as 25-30 point favorites.
Saturday, Sept. 9, at Texas Tech Red Raiders
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Location
Jones AT&T Stadium | Lubbock, Texas
Series Record
Oregon leads the overall series, 2-0.
Setting the way-too-early stage
This is the marquee nonconference game on the schedule for the Ducks, and it involves a matchup against former Oregon QB Tyler Shough, who announced he will return for the 2023 season. The Ducks should be favored, but it’s guaranteed to be an electric atmosphere down in Lubbock.
Saturday, Sept. 16, vs. Hawaii Rainbow Warriors
AP Photo/Eugene Tanner
Location
Autzen Stadium | Eugene, Oregon
Series Record
Oregon leads the overall series, 4-3.
Setting the way-too-early stage
This is going to be an entertaining nonconference game for the Ducks, but I don’t think it will be one fans should spend any time stressing over. Hawaii went 3-10 in 2022 and has not seen a massive overhaul this off-season.
Date TBD, at Arizona State Sun Devils
Location
Sun Devils Stadium | Tempe, Arizona.
Series Record
Oregon leads the overall series, 20-18.
Setting the way-too-early stage
We don’t yet know when this game is going to land in the seasonlong schedule for Oregon. It is certain to be among the most anticipated game of the year, despite the fact it likely will not be among the most competitive on the field. With Kenny Dillingham now the head coach at Arizona State, it will be a fun reunion to watch when the Ducks travel to Tempe.
Date TBD, vs. California Golden Bears
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Location
Autzen Stadium | Eugene, Oregon
Series Record
Oregon is tied in the overall series, 42-42-2.
Setting the way-too-early stage
In the landscape of the Pac-12, there aren’t many games on the schedule that are viewed as cupcakes or easy wins. However, the Golden Bears don’t look to pose a major threat in 2023. They struggled this past year and lost their quarterback in the transfer portal. We will see how Justin Wilcox does in the rest of the offseason, but Cal may be taking Colorado’s spot as the bottom team in the conference next season.
Date TBD, vs. Colorado Buffaloes
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Location
Autzen Stadium | Eugene, Oregon
Series Record
Oregon leads the overall series, 15-9.
Setting the way-too-early stage
Talk about the most intriguing matchups on the schedule, all eyes will be on Eugene when Coach Prime and the Buffs head north. With all of the transfer portal players and recruits Colorado has added, the Buffs could see quite a meteoric rise this season. No matter what ends up happening, it is sure to be entertaining. This could very well be a good game.
Date TBD, vs. Oregon State Beavers
Location
Autzen Stadium | Eugene, Oregon
Series Record
Oregon leads the overall series, 67-49-10.
Setting the way-too-early stage
When the full schedule with dates does eventually come out, there are arguably four or five games that will be circled immediately. This may be the one circled in the most permanent ink. After Oregon’s loss to the Beavers in 2022, plus OSU’s addition of DJ Uiagalelei through the transfer portal, this is shaping up to be potentially the game of the year for the Ducks.
Date TBD, vs. USC Trojans
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Location
Autzen Stadium | Eugene, Oregon
Series Record
Oregon trails the overall series, 38-22-2.
Setting the way-too-early stage
After not playing each other in 2022, this figures to be one of the marquee games of the season — potentially in all of college football. It could even be a preview of the Pac-12 Championship. Bo Nix vs. Caleb Williams, Dan Lanning vs. Lincoln Riley. This one is going to be awesome.
Date TBD, vs. Washington State Cougars
James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Location
Autzen Stadium | Eugene, Oregon
Series Record
Oregon leads the overall series, 53-42-7.
Setting the way-too-early stage
The Cougars are once again going to be a sneaky team in the Pac-12, capable of knocking a lot of the top dogs off with a solid defense and a potentially great offense under the second year or Cameron Ward. This is never a game that Oregon is going to be able to look past.
Date TBD, at Stanford Cardinal
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Location
Stanford Stadium | Palo Alto, California
Series Record
Oregon trails the overall series, 50-35-1.
Setting the way-too-early stage
Stanford is going to be fighting California for the crown of worst team in the Pac-12. The Cardinal were bad this past year, and then head coach David Shaw stepped away from the program. It’s unclear how quickly they will be able to turn things around, but I don’t have high hopes.
Date TBD, at Utah Utes
Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
Location
Rice-Eccles Stadium | Salt Lake City, Utah
Series Record
Oregon leads the overall series, 24-12.
Setting the way-too-early stage
Whether or not QB Cam Rising returns for the 2023 season has a major effect on how interesting this game is. If Rising returns, then the Utes are in line to be among the best teams in the Pac-12. If Rising leaves, then it will be unclear how quickly they can get back into the top tier of the conference and compete for a Pac-12 Championship.
Date TBD, at Washington Huskies
Location
Husky Stadium | Seattle, Washington
Series Record
Oregon trails the overall series, 61-48-5.
Setting the way-too-early stage
Along with Oregon State and USC, this is arguably one of the most interesting games on the schedule. Depending on when it takes place in the season, both schools could very well be ranked inside the top 10 in the nation, and it will likely determine who makes it to the Pac-12 Championship. This rivalry between Oregon and Washington is looking as good as it ever has.
