The Ducks haven’t played a single game in the Big Ten Conference, yet Oregon was a significant topic of conversation in the halls of Lucas Oil Stadium as Big 10 Media Day kicked off on Tuesday in Indianapolis.
Even before the event got underway at Lucas Oil Stadium, the site of the conference’s title game, there was a giant inflatable Duck calmly floating on the White River in the middle of downtown.
Whether it’s Oregon’s version of putting a flag right in the heart of Big Ten Country or making a splash ( so to speak ), the Ducks’ presence was felt and everyone knew Oregon was announcing itself as a team to contend with.
“On August 2nd we officially welcome the University of Oregon, UCLA, USC, and the University of Washington into the Big Ten Conference. These AAU member institutions are leaders in scholarship, innovation, scientific advancements, and athletic excellence”, second-year Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said.
“Together they have won 302 NCAA team championships and will have 49 Olympians on Team USA in Paris.”
Six of the conference’s 18 teams were on display on Day 1.
Oregon will have its time in front of the cameras and journalists on Day 3. But for those coaches who are taking their team to Autzen for the first time, they say they are excited for the opportunity. We’ll see if those feelings remain after their games with the Ducks.
“I know a lot of people have different views on expansion but for me as a head coach, I’m looking at a schedule this year where I play a game on the East Coast against Rutgers in Penn State, and then we play a game on the West Coast against Oregon,” Illinois coach Bret Bielma said.
“We play a game in the middle of our stadium in Memorial Stadium, against Michigan. The 100-year anniversary game that is very, very special to have those types of games on our schedule, not only great for our players, but for our fans.”
Ohio State coach Ryan Day also brings his team to Autzen in what might be the biggest game of the college football season.
While he didn’t mention the Duck team per se, he’ll have a very familiar face as his offensive coordinator in former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly.
“Chip has a background of doing things in a very unique way when it comes to offense. I think everyone immediately goes to the spread offense and when he was at Oregon and some of the no-huddle stuff,” said Day.
“He was at UCLA. You saw him do things with three tight ends in the game. Before that, there was a lot of two-back stuff. There’s a lot of different versatility in his background.”
The Oregon – Ohio State game is slated for Saturday, October 12th in Eugene. Many pundits and sports broadcast outlets are already calling that the single best regular season game of the year.