Oregon

Big Ten power rankings after Week 3: Tons of shuffling behind top-tier

Published

1 year ago

September 15, 2024

Big Ten power rankings after Week 3: Tons of shuffling behind top-tier

It wasn’t the most exciting week of college football, but the highlights came with the two former Pac-12 teams taking on their historical rivals who remain in the conference.

Oregon took awhile but it finally looked like Oregon as it upended Oregon State in stunning fashion. Washington, however, fell to Wazzu, unable to convert on the goal line with a minute to go, down one score. Wisconsin had its big showdown with Alabama and learned just how far away they are from being a championship contender in Luke Fickell’s second year. Michigan looked better against an overmatched opponent — for a half. But it still looks completely unready for the schedule that lies ahead. Indiana under Curt Cignetti continues to impress, MSU looked competent and functional against an FCS opponent, and Purdue got blown out by an angry Notre Dame team.

Ohio State, Penn State, USC, and Rutgers all had early bye weeks.

With all of that said, here is how we’d rank the Big Ten now that Week 3 is in the books.

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Record: 1-1

Hi/Lo: 16/18

Change: -1

Last game: Loss vs. Notre Dame, 7-66

Biggest win: vs. Indiana State, 49-0

The Boilermakers didn’t even come close to doing what NIU was able to do a week ago, showing just how overmatched they are against a team with a pulse. The whole of the run and pass game were bad, and the whole of the defense was bad. Perhaps they’ll fare better next week against a rebuilding Oregon State team that was just as overmatched on Saturday..

Marco Garcia-USA TODAY Sports

Record: 1-1

Hi/Lo: 17/18

Change: +1

Last game: Loss vs. Indiana, BLANK

Biggest win: at Hawaii, 16-13

It’s amazing how quickly UCLA fell off the map. Last year, there were stretches where the Bruins were ranked under the tutelage of Chip Kelly. But this team is not that. Indiana looked dominant against this Bruins team and it looks like what Indiana used to.

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Record: 2-1

Hi/Lo: 12/16

Change: –

Last game: Win vs. Eastern Illinois, 31-7

Biggest win: vs. Miami (Ohio), 13-6

It was exactly what Northwestern needed after the first two weeks, a ho-hum victory over an FCS team. Jack Lausch was excellent at QB and he found former Michigan WR A.J. Henning early and often for 117 yards. The run game was very good as was the defense.

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Record: 2-1

Hi/Lo: 9/15

Change: -2

Last game: Win at Virginia, 27-13

Biggest win: vs. UConn, 50-7

Virginia is no joke of a team, but Maryland envisions a future when it can take down a middling ACC team with ease. However, it wasn’t easy. Still, the Terps got it done in a back-and-forth game. It. wasa good bounce-back after the inexplicable loss to MSU.

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Record: 2-1

Hi/Lo: 14/15

Change: +1

Last game: Win vs. Nevada, 27-0

Biggest win: vs. Rhode Island, 48-0

Nevada is a bad Mountain West team but Minnesota looked functional moving back up from the FCS win last week. The run game and the defense reigned supreme which is the formula for PJ Fleck’s team. Not sure what the ceiling is here, but the Gophers are a tough team that could get some momentum in Big Ten play.

Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

Record: 3-0

Hi/Lo: 13/16

Change: +1

Last game: Win vs. UCLA, 42-13

Biggest win: vs. Western Illinois, 77-3

The Curt Cignetti effect is real. This is a fun team that is still figuring things out, but winning the first in-conference game is a sign of real improvement. Not to mention, when was the last time Indiana won a conference game by 29 points? The defense played very well and it will be interesting to see what the Hoosiers do against better Big Ten teams. That will wait another week as Charlotte is on deck next.

Nick King-Lansing State Journal

Record: 3-0

Hi/Lo: 13/16

Change: –

Last game: Win vs. Prairie View A&M, 40-0

Biggest win: vs. Maryland, 27-24

MSU was impressive, albeit against a bad FCS team. Though it was very good in all phases of the game, it’s difficult to really ascertain what this team is given the past three games. The only team with a pulse it’s faced has been Maryland, and that’s a team that appears to be on a downswing. But the Spartans did what they were supposed to and we’ll know more when they face a resurgent Boston College team next week.

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Record: 2-1

Hi/Lo: 10/11

Change: -1

Last game: Loss vs. Alabama, 10-42

Biggest win: vs. Western Michigan, 28-14

Wisconsin tried to beat Alabama, and it failed miserably! So the lesson here is never try. Joking aside, it’s difficult to take on a historically dominant team when your quarterback gets knocked out early in the game. The offense was OK considering, but couldn’t find the end zone. But the defense was overmatched by Jalen Milroe and what ended up being a stellar rushing attack by the Crimson Tide. Next week is the bye before hosting USC.

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Record: 2-1

Hi/Lo: 9/10

Change: -1

Last game: Loss vs. Washington State, 19-24

Biggest win: vs. Weber State, 35-3

What a heartbreaker. Jedd Fisch literally had his team on the precipice only to call an ill-advised fourth down play on the goal line which could have given the Huskies the lead and likely the win. This was going to be a rebuilding year, but now we just know it for certain.

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Record: 3-0

Hi/Lo: 9/13

Change: +2

Last game: Win vs. Central Michigan, 30-9

Biggest win: vs. Kansas, 23-17

Illinois was impressive yet again, with the most important thing being that quarterback Luke Altmeyer still took care of the football. The run game needs some work and so might the run defense, but this is starting to more and more resemble that of Bret Bielema’s 2022 team rather than last year’s disappointing outfit.

Matthew Holst/Getty Images

Record: 2-1

Hi/Lo: 4/7

Change: -3

Last game: Win vs. Troy, 38-21

Biggest win: vs. Illinois State, 40-0

The good news is that the offense is functional. The bad news is the defense and special teams showed some uncharacteristic lapses. And that was all it took to make it a game. Iowa eventually ran away with it, but Troy kept the game interesting much longer than you’d expect. A road trip to Minnesota will be next.

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Record: 2-1

Hi/Lo: 3/7

Change: -1

Last game: Win vs. Arkansas State, 28-18

Biggest win: vs. Fresno State, 30-10

It was a tale of two halves, with Michigan looking like it was going to run away with this one, but with three interceptions by Davis Warren, Arkansas State disallowed the expected bludgeoning. The score is a bit of a paper tiger as Michigan was never in any danger and 15 points were scored on the third and fourth-string defense, but some of the same issues from the last two weeks continued to pop up. This team is undisciplined and we won’t really know what this team is capable of until it hosts USC next week. If Alex Orji starts, that could set the team on a different trajectory.

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Record: 2-0

Hi/Lo: 7/8

Change: +2

Last game: Win vs. Akron, 49-17

Biggest win: vs. Howard, 44-7

Rutgers was on bye this week but we moved them ahead of Michigan and Iowa due to both teams struggling with lesser teams. The Scarlet Knights at least look like they have a strong identity and ability within that.

Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Record: 3-0

Hi/Lo: 3/7

Change: -2

Last game: Win vs. Northern Iowa, 34-3

Biggest win: vs. Colorado, 28-10

Nebraska moves down, not because it deserves to, but because another team ahead of it deserved to move up. Beating up on Northern Iowa is expected, and the Huskers did what they were supposed to. But we don’t see them beating any of the teams ahead of it — and it’s not even clear if it would beat some of the ones below it.

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Record: 2-0

Hi/Lo: 2/4

Change: –

Last game: Win vs. Bowling Green, 34-27

Biggest win: at West Virginia, 34-12

Despite being on bye, we moved Nebraska beneath the Nittany Lions, because we think that Penn State had a bit of an aberration week last week. Kent State is up next.

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Record: 3-0

Hi/Lo: 1/6

Change: +2

Last game: Win vs. Oregon State, 49-14

Biggest win: vs. Oregon State, 49-14

Now that’s what we were expecting from Oregon all along! The offense was humming in both the run and the pass and the defense was stellar against the rival Beavers. If Oregon continues to play like it did against Oregon State and not how it did against the Idaho teams, it may live up to the lofty preseason expectations

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Record: 2-0

Hi/Lo: 2/8

Change: –

Last game: Win vs. Utah State, 48-0

Biggest win: vs. LSU, 27-20

USC was on bye but has a big showdown with Michigan football in Ann Arbor next week.

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Record: 2-0

Hi/Lo: 1/2

Change: –

Last game: Win vs. Western Michigan, 56-0

Biggest win: vs. Western Michigan, 56-0

Ohio State was on bye this week but faces off against Marshall in Week 4.

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Oregon

The longest whale migration in the world is passing Oregon. Here’s how to see it

Published

10 hours ago

December 24, 2025

Press Room

The longest whale migration in the world is passing Oregon. Here’s how to see it

The great gray whale migration is back on the Oregon coast.

The massive migration of eastern North Pacific gray whales — the longest mammalian migration in the world — sees thousands of whales traveling roughly 12,000 miles from their Arctic feeding grounds to breeding grounds in Baja, Mexico. That migration will once again pass Oregon this month.

Oregon whale watchers will celebrate the peak of the migration from Dec. 27 to 31, when the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department hosts Winter Whale Watch Week at parks up and down the coastline.

Park rangers and volunteers will be stationed at 14 park sites, there to help visitors spot the big cetaceans as they swim past the shore. Park officials said they expect 13,000 whales to pass by Oregon on their way south this season.

The parks department also celebrates Spring Whale Watch Week when the gray whales make their migration north in March.

While there are many good places to go whale watching on the Oregon coast, the town of Depoe Bay, called the Whale Watching Capital of Oregon, is easily one of the best. The central coast town is home to the Whale Watching Center, which will be open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. every day of Winter Whale Watch Week.

Depoe Bay is a popular stop for some of the Pacific gray whales, which sometimes break off their migration to spend the summer months feeding in the kelp beds just offshore. Several whale watching tours are available in town to see the animals up close.

Those staying on shore can more easily spot the animals with binoculars. Scan the ocean slowly and look for the whale’s spout, which will appear as a vertical spray of mist. You can also look for a tail, called a fluke, which sometimes emerges from the water as the whale dives. If you’re lucky, you might see the whale breach, or jump out of the water, though gray whales do so less frequently than some other species, like humpbacks.

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Oregon Leads Federal Lawsuit to Preserve Transgender Care for Minors

Published

22 hours ago

December 24, 2025

Press Room

Oregon Leads Federal Lawsuit to Preserve Transgender Care for Minors

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Oregon hit back in the battle over transgender health care Tuesday, leading a coalition of states suing to block a proposed Trump administration policy that would cut off federal funding to institutions that provide gender affirming care to minors.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that rule change Dec. 18, with a declaration that condemned “sex-rejecting procedures” for minors as “neither safe nor effective”—putting the force the the U.S. federal government on the side of a mounting global movement that sees medical interventions, ranging from puberty blockers to hormone therapy to surgery, as plainly inappropriate treatments for youth diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

In the new suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Oregon and 18 other plaintiffs states say the declaration is not only wrong—”research and clinical data support gender-affirming care as a safe and effective treatment for gender dysphoria in adolescents”—but in violation of multiple federal laws.

The declaration violates laws banning the federal government from intervening in certain ways in the practice of medicine, the plaintiffs say. They also argue it violates laws governing how new federal rules are established. And though the declaration says it is issued “pursuant to the authority vested in” HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the plaintiffs say he does not in fact have the authority to declare the standard of medical care in the United States.

The suit also notes the way federal guidance conflict with the laws of certain plaintiff states. For example, Oregon law guarantees that the Oregon Health Plan cover gender-affirming care. If systems like Oregon Health & Science University and Legacy Health cease to provide this care, the plaintiffs say, patients under the Oregon health plan will lose access to gender-affirming care for which they are statutorily guaranteed coverage.

The legal battle comes as different countries, and U.S. states, issue divergent policies governing medical treatment for transgender youth.

Compounding the confusion is the fact that gender affirming care is a rather capacious term. It can refer to social affirmation of someone’s chosen gender identity, or legal affirmation, where government documents reflect that identity (the Trump administration has moved to restrict this too).

The term can also refer to medical treatments, such as puberty blockers, which are generally reversible, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. It says other treatments like hormone therapy are partially reversible, while surgery is not reversible. The AAP endorses carefully-administered gender-affirming care in minors with gender dysphoria as a way to promote their physical and social well being.

The stakes in this debate are high for Oregon because OHSU has in recent years become a major provider of such care. The university’s press office hasn’t offered details on the scope of its patient base but, in a 2023 report, OHSU described its Transgender Health Program as one of the “largest and most comprehensive” in the United States.

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Oregon

Oregon’s biggest library releases its most popular books of 2025

Published

1 day ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

Oregon’s biggest library releases its most popular books of 2025

Updated: Dec. 23, 2025, 10:36 a.m.
Published: Dec. 23, 2025, 10:22 a.m.

The new Holgate Library opens in Southeast Portland on Saturday, July 13, 2024. The expanded space is now one of largest libraries in Multnomah County.Sean Meagher/The Oregonian

The Multnomah County Library on Tuesday released the names of its most popular books in 2025, and the lists include several gems, including classics by literary giants Jane Austen and (for the under 5 set) Mo Willems.

Multnomah County’s 19 branches together hosted visitors more than 2 million times and checked out or renewed books and other items almost 9 million times so far this year.

Are your favorite books on the lists? Here are the most popular titles as of Dec. 1:

Physical books:

Top adult titles:

James: A Novel by Percival Everett (1,089 checkouts)
Tilt: A Novel by Emma Pattee (1,059 checkouts)
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (1,004 checkouts)
All Fours by Miranda July (973 checkouts)
Intermezzo: A Novel by Sally Rooney (758 checkouts)

Top teen titles:

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (507 checkouts)
The Blue Line Letters by Steven Christiansen (338 checkouts)
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (217 checkouts)
Heartstopper. Volume 5. by Alice Oseman (192 checkouts)
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (168 checkouts)

Top kids titles:

The Thank You Book by Mo Willems (636 checkouts)
Pigs Make Me Sneeze!: An Elephant & Piggie Book by Mo Willems (625 checkouts)
My New Friend Is So Fun! by Mo Willems (611 checkouts)
Watch Me Throw the Ball! by Mo Willems (569 checkouts)
I Will Surprise My Friend! by Mo Willems (560 checkouts)

E-books and audiobooks (checkouts combined):

Top adult titles:

Solito by Javier Zamora (10,006 checkouts)
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (7,835 checkouts)
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (6,320 checkouts)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (4,923 checkouts)
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson (4,824 checkouts)

Top teen titles:

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (3,215 checkouts)
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (2,958 checkouts)
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (2,902 checkouts)
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (2,822 checkouts)
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross (1,923 checkouts)

Top kids titles:

Hot Mess by Jeff Kinney (2,814 checkouts)
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown (1,923 checkouts)
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (1,808 checkouts)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling (1,478 checkouts)

Beth Slovic is an editor on the public safety/breaking news team. She previously covered Portland City Hall at The Oregonian/OregonLive and has taught journalism at a number of Portland-area universities and…

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