Despite not playing last weekend, Oregon moved up a spot to No. 8 in the AP Top 25 poll as it prepares for its Big Ten Conference debut at UCLA on Saturday.
Oregon (3-0) has won four in a row and 10 of its last 11 games against former Pac-12 rival UCLA (1-2, 0-1). The Ducks are 15-3 against the Bruins since 2000.
“I’m glad to be back playing football,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said Monday. “I’m excited, obviously, for our first Big Ten matchup. Getting the opportunity to travel to the Rose Bowl, always an iconic place to play, and certainly a team that we’re excited to go out there and play against.”
After two close home games against heavy underdogs, the Ducks found their explosiveness on offense on Sept. 14 when they trounced in-state rival Oregon State on the road, 49-14. The Ducks racked up 546 yards of total offense in one of the most lopsided wins in a rivalry that began in 1894.
Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel leads the nation with an 84 percent completion percentage and is the only FBS quarterback above 80 percent. A threat to run, Gabriel has 16,865 total yards in his career and needs 135 to join Case Keenum as the only players in NCAA history to reach 17,000.
“That means more time for us to prepare, more time for us to get ready. We’re excited about the challenge and what that provides,” Lanning said of the 8 p.m. local time kickoff.
“Sometimes bye week can be a lull for teams. I thought our guys have attacked it with the proper approach of finding ways to continue to improve and get better. We talk about having a player-led team. I think that’s really shown up for our guys over the last several weeks, and it’s certainly shown up throughout the season so far.”
UCLA is 1-2 under first-year head coach and former Bruins star running back DeShaun Foster. One of those losses came at home in their Big Ten opener against Indiana, and last Saturday, the Bruins fell at then-No. 16 LSU 34-17.
The Bruins’ only win came at Hawaii, 16-13 in the opener. UCLA is in the middle of a three-game stretch against ranked opponents, including a road game against No. 9 Penn State on Oct. 5.
Ethan Garbers threw for a career-high 281 yards with two touchdowns against LSU. But UCLA has been dominated in many offensive statistical categories, including red-zone touchdowns. The Bruins have touchdowns on just 3 of 9 trips inside the opposing 20-yard line, while opponents are 8 of 12.
Opponents have 11 total touchdowns against UCLA, while the Bruins have just four.
“There’s no moral victories in football. We’ve got to get better,” Foster said. “We’ve just got to find ways to shorten this game and keep them off the field and play our kind of ball.”
