Oregon Ducks Football Schedule Ranked: Easiest Or Hardest In Big Ten?

Ranking the easiest and hardest schedules in the Big Ten Conference. The Oregon Ducks steamrolled their way through a tough schedule last year in their inaugural season in the Big Ten, they will now enter the 2025-26 season with an easier schedule.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning rallies his team during warmups before the Oregon Spring game at Autzen in Eugene April 26, 2025 | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Oregon Ducks football schedule is ranked by Sporting News to be the 14th toughest schedule in the Big Ten Conference for the 2025-26 season.

It is a nice change for the Ducks, who had a tough schedule last year in their inaugural Big Ten season that saw Oregon host the Ohio State Buckeyes, travel to Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan Wolverines, and travel to Madison to battle the Wisconsin Badgers. 

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning speaks during a press availability Thursday, March 13, 2025, at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex in Eugene, Ore. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Sporting News ranked all the Big Ten teams' schedules for the 2025-26 season, and decided that Wisconsin has the toughest schedule, and Illinois has the easiest. Sporting News ranked the Ducks as having the 14th toughest schedule, tied with Michigan and Maryland. 

1. Wisconsin
2. Rutgers
3. USC
4. Ohio State
5. Purdue
6. Washington
7. Northwestern
8. Indiana
9. Minnesota
10. UCLA
11. Penn State
12. Iowa
13. Nebraska
T-14. Michigan
T-14. Maryland
T-14. Oregon
17. Michigan State
18. Illinois

Some good news for Oregon fans is that Big Ten rivals Ohio State have the fourth-toughest schedule according to Sporting News. The Buckeyes take on Texas in a massive non-conference game to open the season, and have to play Penn State, Michigan in Ann Arbor, where they have not won since 2019, and Illinois.

Oregon's fierce rivals Washington have the No. 6 toughest schedule in the Big Ten, according to Sporting News. The Huskies will host both Oregon and Ohio State, while traveling on the road to Ann Arbor to play Michigan.

The Ducks get a few bounces to go their way this season when it comes to the schedule. Oregon will dodge both Ohio State and Michigan, two teams they had to play last year. In lieu of playing Ohio State and Michigan, the Ducks will travel to Penn State for the Nittany Lions' annual “whiteout game” in week five on the 2025-26 season. 

Penn State head football coach James Franklin reacts to something on the sideline during the Blue-White game at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, April 26, 2025, in State College. The White team defeated the Blue team, 10-8. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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After Penn State, the Ducks' schedule drops off quite a bit in terms to toughness. Oregon will have a bye week after the Penn State game, followed by welcoming Indiana and Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti to Autzen Stadium. Oregon will follow that up with a trip to Rutgers, before coming home and doing battle with the Badgers, who narrowly lost to the Ducks last year in a defensive battle, as the Ducks walked out of Camp Randall with a 16-13 win.

Oregon’s back half of the schedule won't necessarily be a cakewalk, but it should be manageable for Ducks coach Dan Lanning and his staff. The Ducks should be favored in their final four games of the season. The Ducks travel to Iowa City to play Iowa before returning home to do battle with Minnesota and newly extended Golden Gophers coach PJ Fleck. 

Sep 23, 2023; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach PJ Fleck on the field before the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

The Ducks will follow up the Minnesota bout with a visit from USC to Autzen Stadium, a building in which USC has not won since 2011. Oregon will close out its regular season with a trip up north to Seattle to play Washington, a place Oregon hasn't won at since 2021. The Ducks' easier schedule certainly helps their chances at making it back to the College Football Playoff.