Ranking the Ducks’ 2024 football schedule from toughest game to biggest cakewalk
As we get further into the offseason, it’s given us an opportunity to look at non-roster elements of the Oregon Ducks’ upcoming 2024 season. While the transfer portal, and incoming recruits, and returning starters are incredibly important, they are only half of the equation.
The schedule is the other half, pitting Dan Lanning and the Ducks up against their new Big Ten Conference foes while taking them to new places across the country. At the moment, Oregon is scheduled to play in 13 regular-season games next year, but their Week Zero game against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors is currently in question due to some scheduling issues.
While the Pac-12 years offered a lot of continuity for Duck fans, where there was some certainty about who was good and who wasn’t, that knowledge doesn’t currently exist yet in the Big Ten for the new expansion teams. We know that there is a lot of talent at the top with schools like Ohio State, Michigan, and Wisconsin, but what about the rest of the conference? Will games against the likes of Purdue, Northwestern, or Nebraska give the Ducks problems?
Earlier this weekend, we went through the Ducks’ schedule and offered an early preview of what to expect in each game. Now we want to rank the games from what we think will be the easiest wins, to what might be the most difficult in the end. Here are our rankings:
Week 1 vs. Idaho Vandals
Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
Location: Autzen Stadium (Eugene, OR)
Series Record: Oregon leads the series 52-3-4
Reason for Ranking
All due respect to the Idaho Vandals, but I don’t expect the Oregon Ducks to have any trouble with an FCS School next year. There’s a chance that this will be the Ducks’ first game of the year, depending on what happens with the Hawaii game, but whether it’s first or second on the schedule, I think this ends up being a blowout for the Ducks where most of the starters are out of the game by half.
Week 8 vs. Purdue Boilermakers
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Location: Ross-Ade Stadium (West Lafayette, IND)
Series Record: Oregon leads the series 2-1
Reason for Ranking
The Purdue Boilermakers are last in our Big Ten Conference power rankings for 2024 for a reason. Ryan Walters did a decent job taking over as the head coach in 2023, and Hudson Card could be a solid passer next year, but I don’t think Purdue’s roster is anywhere close to good enough to compete with the Ducks.
Week 0 vs. Hawaii Rainbow Warriors
Location: Aloha Stadium (Manoa, HA)
Series Record: Oregon leads the series 5-3
Reason for Ranking
There is still some speculation as to whether or not this game will take place or not, but if it does happen, then it should be another easy one for the Ducks. Oregon beat Hawaii 55-10 in 2023, and while this game is on the road, I don’t think that will make any difference.
Week 9 vs. Illinois Fighting Illini
Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports
Location: Autzen Stadium (Eugene, OR)
Series Record: Oregon leads the series 2-1
Reason for Ranking
Illinois is another team at the bottom of our Big Ten power rankings heading into the 2024 season. Bret Bielema has struggled to rise above mediocrity has of late, and the recruiting hasn’t been at a high enough level to give a lot of optimism going forward. I don’t think the Ducks should have any trouble with the Fighting Illini.
Week 4 vs. Oregon State Beavers
(Photo by Tom Hauck/Getty Images)
Location: Reser Stadium (Corvallis, OR)
Series Record: Oregon leads the series 68-49-10
Reason for Ranking
Oregon vs. Oregon State has been a solid game over the past several years, but it looks like we may be entering an era of Duck dominance once again after the recent coaching change and the pillaging of the roster in Corvallis. We don’t know who the QB will be in 2024, and the talent level on the roster has diminished a ton over the past couple of months. This one likely won’t be very close.
Week 2 vs. Boise State Broncos
(Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
Location: Autzen Stadium (Eugene, OR)
Series Record: Boise State leads the series 3-0
Reason for Ranking
Boise State has gotten the better of Oregon every time they’ve faced each other, but the Ducks are certainly in a better spot right now. At this point in the rankings, though, it starts to get a little bit more serious with every game. The Broncos will have former USC 5-star QB Malachi Nelson running the offense, so there’s a chance they put up a fight in Eugene.
Week 11 vs. Maryland Terrapins
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Location: Autzen Stadium (Eugene, OR)
Series Record: No Previous Matchups
Reason for Ranking
Maryland might be a pretty sneaky good team in 2024, now with NC State’s MJ Morris running the offense. I don’t expect this to be a game where Oregon is truly on upset alert. However, this will come the week after the Ducks travel to Michigan, so they could be less than 100%. I don’t expect a massive blowout, but I do expect an Oregon win.
Week 6 vs. Michigan State Spartans
Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
Location: Autzen Stadium (Eugene, OR)
Series Record: Oregon leads the series 4-3
Reason for Ranking
It will be interesting to see how quickly Jonathan Smith is able to turn things around at Michigan State. He has a talented roster, led by QB Aidan Chiles, so I expect the Spartans to give the Ducks a pretty good game in Autzen Stadium. The home-field advantage should play a big difference, though, so this should be an Oregon win.
Week 5 vs. UCLA Bruins
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Location: Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)
Series Record: UCLA leads the series 39-32
Reason for Ranking
It’s pretty hard to assess the UCLA Bruins right now. They’ve lost several starters via the transfer portal, but they are still a talented team with a respectable head coach in Chip Kelly. The fact that this game is on the road makes it a little higher on the difficulty list, but it’s still a game that I expect Oregon to be able to win relatively easily.
Week 14 vs. Washington Huskies
(Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)
Location: Autzen Stadium (Eugene, OR)
Series Record: Washington leads the series 63-48-5
Reason for Ranking
A month ago, this game looked a lot more difficult than it currently does. We knew that Washington wouldn’t be quite the same with the loss of Michael Penix, Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan, and many other starters from 2023, but the loss of Kalen DeBoer and the subsequent transfers of nearly the entire starting roster have left the Huskies in a grim place. I think that by the time the season rolls around, some sense of stability might return to Seattle, but there’s also a chance that I’m way over-rating this game in terms of difficulty.
It also is saying something that this is arguably the fourth toughest game on Oregon’s schedule next year. At this point, it’s pretty clear that outside of the top three games, the Ducks should be pretty big favorites in every contest.
Week 12 vs. Wisconsin Badgers
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Location: Camp Randall Stadium (Madison, WI)
Series Record: The series is tied at 3-3
Reason for Ranking
I’m incredibly intrigued to see how good Wisconsin can be next year. With Luke Fickell in his second season with the Badgers, and the addition of Tyler Van Dyke at quarterback, there’s a real chance that Wisconsin can figure things out and find a way to compete at the top of the conference. Until we see how things go, though, I’m not willing to put the Badgers ahead of either top-two teams on this list.
Week 10 vs. Michigan Wolverines
(Photo By Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Location: Michigan Stadium (Ann Arbor, MI)
Series Record: Michigan leads the series 3-2
Reason for Ranking
While it’s fair to question what the ceiling is for the Michigan Wolverines in 2024, with a new QB1, a new RB1, new starters littered across the offense and defense, and potentially a new head coach, it feels like we have a good idea what the floor is: A team good enough to compete in the Big Ten. With the level of talent on the roster, and the culture established over the years, Michigan should be a very good team again next season.
If this game was in Eugene, it might not be as high on the list, but with the Ducks having to travel to The Big House late in the season, it’s not hard to circle this game as one of the most difficult of the year.
Week 7 vs. Ohio State Buckeyes
Location: Autzen Stadium (Eugene, OR)
Series Record: Ohio State leads the series 9-1
Reason for Ranking
There should be absolutely zero questions about what the toughest game of the year is for the Ducks in 2024. With the way that Ohio State has retooled their roster this year via the transfer portal and the incoming recruiting class, plus the number of highly-talented returning starters that will come back for another year, you could argue that the Buckeyes deserve to be ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation.
[lawrence-related id=56334]
Oregon is lucky to get this game at home in Autzen Stadium, but that deosn’t mean it shouldn’t be No. 1 on the difficulty list. Early on, it’s clear that this is going to be one of the best games of the year next season.
