The Ducks and Beavers meet for their annual Rivalry Game Saturday at Autzen Stadium in Eugene.
It will be the 129th meeting between the two teams and comes as Oregon State is winless in their first three games of the season.
No. 6 Oregon is 3-0 after notching dominant wins against Montana State, Oklahoma State, and Northwestern.
The Rivalry Game held more gravitas when both teams were part of the Pac-12, a league that saw 10 teams, including Oregon depart for other conferences in 2024. As of now, the teams do not plan to meet in 2026, but will continue their annual game in 2027.
In speaking to the press this week, Beavers Coach Trent Bray said, “It’s a big game because you’re playing a team in the top 10. That resonates with every player. The Oregon versus Oregon State for a player? Yeah, it’s not what it used to be. Conference alignment, guys are moving from here to there, so that part of it for the players- now for the fans are different, but for the players, it’s a game against a top-level opponent and that’s the exciting thing in an environment that’s going to be great.”
Ducks coach Dan Lanning agreed this annual game is important.
“This game still means a lot to us, for sure. It’s state rights- it’s the opportunity to play a team that’s in state, just down the road," he said. "A lot of fans grew up either Ducks or Beavs in our community and in this state. This game means a lot to a lot of people, and certainly means a lot to the people on our team.”
Bray, a former Beaver player, is in his second season as head coach and has gone 5-10 overall in his time at the helm. Given the lackluster record, when asked if he is still the person to lead this team, Bray responded yes, and said he feels that way for the same reasons why he took over the program in 2024.
“I love this place, love this program, I think we got good coaches, we got good players. We got to continue to get better and continue to get the best out of these guys,” said Bray.
Lanning, in his 4th season with the Ducks, boasts a 38-6 record. He led the Ducks to the Big Ten title in their first year in the conference, and then to the National Championship game where the Ducks fell to Ohio State.
On the line Saturday is the nation's longest active nonconference home winning streak: the Ducks have won 36 straight nonconference games at Autzen Stadium.
Kick-off is set for 12:00 p.m. Saturday. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten network.
