One Game on the Oregon Ducks Schedule Is Already Turning Heads

The Oregon Ducks football schedule for the 2026 season is filled with several heavy-hitter games. From the Ducks' first return to "The Horseshoe" to face Ohio State since their win in 2021, to the Ducks' first trip to face the Fighting Illini since joining the Big Ten, and a trip down south to face their former Pac-12 foes, the USC Trojans, the road games alone provide thrilling challenges.

There's one game on the Ducks' docket, however, that received some praise from Josh Pate's College Football Show amongst some of the biggest matchups of the season.

Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore (5) draws back to pass Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, during the Peach Bowl and semifinal game of the College Football Playoff against the Indiana Hoosiers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Josh Pate Shouts Out Oregon Ducks Game vs. Ohio State

For national analyst Josh Pate, the most interesting game on Oregon's schedule is that return to Columbus, Ohio, to face the Buckeyes.

In 2021, the Ducks shocked the nation with a 35-28 final score (one of the last big games of the coach Mario Cristobal era). Now, coach Dan Lanning enters "The Shoe" for the first time in his career with the Ducks. Plus, with this game scheduled on Nov. 7, there's a chance both teams could be entering the game with high stakes. Either way, both teams are already established by that point in the season.

"By this point in the season, by week 10, Ohio State has already faced Texas on the road, Iowa on the road, Indiana on the road and USC on the road," Pate said. "And they play Southern California the week before Oregon. So a nice little six thousand some-odd mile round trip there."

There's also the Oregon side of the late season stretch. Prior to their trip to Ohio, the Ducks at that point in the schedule will already have faced USC on the road, Nebraska at home, and Illinois on the road.

Could the Ducks be battle tested enough to take on the Buckeyes? Will the Buckeyes be too beaten down by previous opponents to successfully beat the Ducks? Will the Buckeyes or Ducks traveling time impact their competition?

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning watches as Indiana scores as the Oregon Ducks face the Indiana Hoosiers in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 9, 2026, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Coaching Face Off Adds Fuel to the Fire

For Pate, another aspect of this 2026 game that fuels his interest is the coaching match-up between Oregon's Dan Lanning and Ohio State's Ryan Day.

Lanning is currently 1-1 against Day's Buckeyes, with the previous meeting being that 2024 College Football Playoff Rose Bowl quarterfinals beatdown where the Buckeyes went on to win the national title after a 41-21 victory over Oregon.

"Dan Lanning's way versus Ryan Day's way," Pate said. "One of the things I always say about match-ups of top five caliber programs is: if you're a top five program that means you've got the resources to do anything anyway you want. So your philosophies, your roster building, your portal strategy, your hiring strategies, you get to choose how you do it all. There is no inadequacy that forces you to 'Oakland A's' your way to a win circa 2004. You get to do it in any which way you want."

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates a first down catch during the second half of the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. Ohio State won 41-21. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Competing for the Spotlight

With the Ducks getting a break from facing their biggest in-conference foe for the 2025-2026 season, fans get a return to form in a Rose Bowl rematch over a year anticipated. To clinch the coveted game of the week popular perception, the Ducks and Buckeyes game does rub up against another high profile rivalry.

Miami at Notre Dame is also happening the same weekend. With the Hurricanes and Fighting Irish's last meeting being the kickoff to 2025's season, there's a chance that a gap in the Ducks' and Buckeyes' rivalry might glean more attention. In Pate's opinion, the attention could go either way depending on how each team does leading up to both marks on the calendar.