Oregon

Oregon football arrives at Rose Bowl with ‘business trip’ mindset

Published

1 year ago

December 30, 2024

Oregon football arrives at Rose Bowl with ‘business trip’ mindset

LOS ANGELES — It was a familiar scene in a season filled with long road trips and high expectations: Oregon football players lumbering off a fleet of buses in matching sweatsuits, flanked by coaches and support staff. Serious looks on nearly every face as the Ducks arrive at the team hotel.

A highly anticipated Rose Bowl matchup with No. 8 Ohio State is viewed as a “business trip,” above all else, Oregon players said. The No. 1 Ducks are treating it like any other game in more ways than just transportation.

“The overall mood is definitely business,” safety Kobe Savage said. “Coach (Dan) Lanning does a great job of emphasizing that throughout the week, telling us it’s not really a bowl game. It’s a playoff game. It’s do or die. It’s definitely a different mindset with a different mentality.”

This one is certainly different than Rose Bowls past, the first College Football Playoff quarterfinal game to be held at the Granddaddy of Them All. While the Ducks have embraced the game’s history — including their own with the chosen uniform combination — the Rose Bowl is no longer the icing on the cake that it has been for this program. It’s the start of a journey with the bigger goal of a national title in mind.

“I’ve been so proud of my team just grinding hard,” offensive lineman Ajani Cornelius said. “It’s a long season, but we’re not even going to worry about that. We’re just worried about continuing to play as well as we can.”

The Ducks will settle in before several days of shuttling between team meetings, practice, media obligations and volunteer events. It only adds to the anticipation for this group after nearly a month since its Big Ten championship game victory over Penn State.

“Just practicing all month of December (into) January, we’re really excited to get back out there,” Savage said. “Instead of going against each other, going out there against Ohio State and showing what we’ve got. … It got a lot of air under our wings being able to get the recovery in, get the extra film in. Being able to study both Tennessee and Ohio State. Mentally and physically, it helped us a lot.”

Ohio State dispatched Tennessee 42-17 in a CFP first-round game Dec. 21 in Columbus. The Buckeyes enter the Rose Bowl with renewed confidence after a stunning loss to rival Michigan in their regular-season finale, and are seeking revenge against Oregon after an Oct. 12 regular-season meeting that the Ducks won 32-31 and marked a signature victory of Lanning’s tenure.

“It’s an absolute blessing to be able to play on this stage and come this far,” Cornelius said. “I’m just honored to be here and want to keep playing.”

CFP quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl

Who: No. 1 Oregon Ducks (13-0) vs. No. 8 Ohio State (11-2)
When: Wednesday, Jan. 1
Time: 2 p.m. PT
Where: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
TV channel: ESPN
Stream: You can watch this game live for FREE with Fubo (free trial) or by signing up for Sling (cheapest streaming plans, $25 off your first month). If you already have cable, you can also watch this game live on Watch ESPN with your cable or satellite provider login information.
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— Ryan Clarke covers the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten Conference. Listen to the Ducks Confidential podcast or subscribe to the Ducks Roundup newsletter.

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Oregon

Auburn signs former Oregon State QB Tristan Ti’a

Published

2 hours ago

January 12, 2026

Press Room

Auburn signs former Oregon State QB Tristan Ti’a

Auburn’s quarterback room gained another piece out of the transfer portal on Sunday, and is now up to four scholarship players.

The latest signee is Oregon State transfer Tristan Ti’a, a source confirmed to AL.com. He comes to Auburn after spending one season with the Beavers, and will likely fill the backup quarterback role at Auburn behind Byrum Brown.

Ti’a was a backup during his freshman season at Oregon State, playing in three games. In that time, he completed 37 of his 53 passes for 385 yards with three passing touchdowns and two interceptions.

He’s the third and likely final transfer quarterback to sign with Auburn since the portal opened on Jan. 2, joining Brown and former USF third-string quarterback Locklan Hewlett. Incoming freshman Rhys Brush will also be in the quarterback room next season.

With Ti’a signing, Auburn is now up to 22 incoming transfers. The portal will remain open until Jan. 16. Keep up with all of Auburn’s incoming and outgoing transfers here.

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Oregon

Oregon outside linebacker Blake Purchase to enter transfer portal

Published

14 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Oregon outside linebacker Blake Purchase to enter transfer portal

Oregon is losing a second edge defender to transfer.

Blake Purchase will enter the transfer portal, he announced via X. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

“I want to start by thanking God for this journey and everything that has come with it,” Purchase told DenverSportsMedia.com. “Thank you to my family for the continued love and support they have given me. I’m forever grateful for these past three seasons at the University of Oregon. The lessons l’ve learned here will stay with me for a lifetime. Thank you to all the coaches who poured into me and helped me grow as both a person and a player. And to my teammates – the bonds we built are forever. You are my brothers for life.”

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Purchase had 32 tackles (4.5 for loss) with two sacks, one interception and one pass breakup this season. His 352 snaps on defense ranked 14th for UO this season.

Purchase had two tackles while redshirting last season and five tackles as a true freshman in 2023.

A four-star recruit out of Cherry Creek (Colorado) High School, Purchase was the No. 294 overall prospect and No. 34 edge defender in the class of 2023 in the 247Sports Composite.

Purchase will be the sixteenth scholarship player to transfer from UO this offseason, joining defensive backs Jahlil Florence, Dakoda Fields, Solomon Davis, Sione Laulea, Kingston Lopa and Daylen Austin, receivers Justius Lowe and Kyler Kasper, quarterbacks Austin Novosad and Luke Moga, offensive lineman Lipe Moala and running backs Jay Harris, Makhi Hughes and Jayden Limar. Oregon has 79 projected scholarship players in 2026.

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Oregon

Oregon State men slip up down stretch of competitive matchup with Portland

Published

1 day ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Oregon State men slip up down stretch of competitive matchup with Portland

Despite a strong start and competitive effort for much of the night, Oregon State men’s basketball fell apart down the stretch of a 82-76 loss to University of Portland on Saturday night at Chiles Center.

A corner three-pointer by Mikah Ballew buried the Beavers (9-10, 2-4 WCC), putting Portland up 78-70 with just 1:10 remaining.

The Pilots (9-10, 2-4 WCC) had four players in double figures: Cameron Williams with 23, Jermaine Webb Balsinger and Joel Foxwell with 18 apiece, and Ballew with 16.

The Beavers were led by Olavi Suutela with 19 points and Johan Munch with 14. Dez White, Josiah Lake II and Yaak Yaak each had 10, and OSU out-shot the Pilots — 47% to 43% — but untimely turnovers and missed shots hurt them in the second half.

OSU came out hot, taking a 18-8 lead early in the first half including 12 points from Suutela. It got up to 24-15 before the Pilots mounted a response.

Turnovers and miscommunication by the Beavers on offense led to a 8-0 run by Portland. OSU clung to its lead for a while, but Portland took its first at 31-30 late in the first half.

The Pilots carried a 39-38 lead into the break.

Coming out of the half, after some back and forth, the Beavers went on an 11-1 run — fueled by the scoring and defensive effort of Suutela, and inside play of Noah Amenhauser — to take a 54-45 advantage at the 13:11 mark.

Turnovers reared their ugly head once again for the Beavers, though, and a pair of jumpers by Joel Foxwell cut the OSU lead down to 56-53.

Portland retook the lead, 57-56, with 10 minutes remaining. With an increased energy on both ends of the floor and OSU missing open shots, the Pilots led 66-63 with six minutes remaining and never relinquished it.

Portland’s defense smothered OSU in the halfcourt, and Wayne Tinkle’s side couldn’t find an easy basket, settling often for one-on-one opportunities rather than consistent and meaningful ball movement. Portland led, 71-68, with 3:19 to go.

Trailing by nine, Lake II hit a three-pointer to cut it to six with five seconds left. Too little, too late for the Beavers as they slipped back below .500.

Next game: Oregon State (9-10, 2-4 WCC) vs. LMU (11-7, 2-3 WCC)