Oregon Ducks To Forge New Rivalries With Move To Big Ten Conference

Southern California defensive lineman Nick Figueroa (50) pushes Oregon wide receiver Johnny Johnson III (3) out of bounds during the second half of an NCAA college football game for the Pac-12 Conference championship Friday, Dec 18, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

By STEVEN VAUGHAN, 750 THE GAME

Oregon is heading to the Big 10 in 2024, and everybody is reacting.

Some people think it’s good. Some people think it’s bad. But what we do know is that it is happening.

Oregon Duck Hall of Famer Jordan Kent joined the Bald Faced Truth on Friday and while Kent said he will miss the Pac-12, he thinks there is also an opportunity for the Ducks to get some annual games against big-time teams.

“What maybe takes the sting out of it if you’re a Ducks fan is now you’re essentially guaranteed football games against UCLA, USC, and Washington, versus years where you skipped one of the LA schools and you went two years without playing USC,” Kent said on 750 The Game. “Those are three major matchups, and then throw in there either one or four of the potential matchups against Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan, and Penn State. That is a meaty regular season conference schedule right there. That’s very exciting.”

The rivalry with Oregon State is now a huge question mark. Kent thinks it may be tough to continue it in football.

“What do you do with the rivalry with Oregon State? Do you schedule them as a non-conference opponent every year? I don’t know how realistic that is. I think it’s much easier in the other sports with a lot more games where you can schedule matchups against Oregon State.”

The actual games are coming very soon. Oregon opens up with Portland State on September 2nd, but the Ducks have a very tough true road game on September 9th at Texas Tech.

“This is a game that you’ve got to be pretty worried about in a sense of it’s week two, going to a funky environment, going against a quarterback (Tyler Shough) who has something to prove against you,” Kent said. “That’s something that always draws some attention on the radar.”

Even though it’s a tough environment, Kent still thinks the Ducks should get the job done.

“You are going to be dealing with the warmer weather for sure,” the former Ducks receiver said. “It’s going down to a hostile environment. They’re going to packing the house to see the Ducks play, but this is still a very good Oregon team. This is Bo Nix. This is a defense returning a lot of pieces. This is a team that has a lot of skill position players. It’s year two of Dan Lanning. They have recruited well. This should still be a game Oregon can win.”

Conference realignment has been the talking point of the offseason. But now the regular season is coming soon and the Ducks look to have a year that ends in Las Vegas.

Listen to the full interview with Oregon Ducks Hall of Famer Jordan Kent by clicking the link below. Catch the Bald Faced Truth with John Canzano 3-6 pm in Portland exclusively on 750 The Game.