Oregon Ducks Sending Stern Warning To Ohio State Buckeyes

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The Ohio State Buckeyes have a new power to contend with in the Big Ten: the Oregon Ducks.
The Big Ten added four new schools to its conference this year, importing four clubs from the Pac-12: Washington, UCLA, USC...and Oregon.
The Ducks have emerged as a national power over the last decade-and-a-half, registering 11 double-digit win campaigns since 2008 and making a national championship game appearance in January 2015 (where they lost to none other than Ohio State).
Now, Oregon is sending a warning to the Buckeyes.
For as long as we can remember, Ohio State fans have referred to archrival Michigan as "That Team Up North." Well, the Ducks now want the Buckeyes—and all other Big Ten squads—to refer to them as "That Team Out West."
Oregon's senior associate director of video Scott Anderson appeared on the Bleav In Oregon podcast with Zachary Neel and Ducks legend Jonathan Stewart and wants Ohio State to know that Oregon is coming.
“If you’re an Ohio State fan, we want you to hate us. That’s the goal."
— Zachary Neel (@zacharycneel) August 1, 2024
For over 100 years, the Buckeyes have called Michigan “That Team Up North” to avoid saying the Wolverines' name.
Well, here come the Oregon Ducks — That Team Out West.
(@BleavNetwork @BetOnline_ag) pic.twitter.com/BF5Zx6xIyf
The Ducks should certainly be a force to be reckoned with in 2024, with transfer quarterback and Heisman Trophy frontrunner Dillon Gabriel joining the team this season.
But how will Oregon hold up in the Big Ten?
While the Pac-12 is certainly a fine conference, it doesn't exactly have the stellar reputation of the Big Ten, and last winter, a Big Ten school (Michigan) hammered a Pac-12 representative (Washington) in the national championship game.
We'll see if the Ducks can maintain their dominance in their new surroundings, and we'll also get to see if they can really make the Buckeyes remember their name...or refuse to even say it.

Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.