The No.1 Oregon Ducks take on rival Washington Huskies Saturday evening at Autzen Stadium. Ducks cornerback Jabbar Muhammad will be taking on his former team for the first time since transferring this past offseason. 

What did he have to say about the Oregon-Washington rivalry?

Jabbar Muhammad: “It’s a Really Fierce Rivalry”

Defensive back Jabbar Muhammad has been in his fair share of big rivalry games throughout his career. Prior to joining Oregon this season, Muhammad had spent three seasons at Oklahoma State and last season at Washington. He has played in the Bedlam rivalry game between Oklahoma-Oklahoma State and also was on the other side of the Washington-Oregon rivalry a season ago. 

He was asked about what it has been like on each side of the Washington-Oregon rivalry.

“It’s a really fierce rivalry. Obviously, the fans don’t really get along too well,” Muhammad said. “Me coming from the south, I didn’t know it was that crazy. I’m used to Texas-OU and Auburn-Bama. This is up there with those rivalries. Just to be a part of it is pretty cool.”

Muhammad recalled one of the craziest experiences he’s had in a rivalry game before, and cited “Bedlam” when he was with Oklahoma State.

“I remember getting egged on the bus,” Muhammad said. “Like I said, this (UW-UO rivalry) is up there with it.”

Even with the added juice of a rivalry game, the approach for the Ducks will be the same as any other game. 

“It’s just another game honestly. Ready to go out there and compete with my bros,” Muhammad said. “We just need to be us.”

Jabbar Muhammad Previews Washington Offense 

The Washington Huskies passing attack is led by quarterback Will Rogers and wide receivers Denzel Boston and Giles Jackson. 

This is what Jabbar Muhammad had to say about Denzel Boston.

“He’s (Boston) really good in intermediate game, the quick game, and the deep game,” Muhammad said. “He’s a really complete wide receiver so I’m looking forward to go against him Saturday,”

Here’s what he said about Giles Jackson. 

“Agile. Really quick in the slot. Really good with yards after the catch so going to have to do a good job trying to contain him,” Muhammad said. 

As for the quarterback position, the Huskies are led by Will Rogers. Backup Demond Williams Jr. is also utilized at times as a dual threat option.

“(Rogers) is a really good pocket passer. Doesn’t really do any running like No. 2 (Williams Jr.), but he has a complete game,” Muhammad said. “No. 2 (Williams Jr.) is more of a dual threat. Can kill you with his legs and throw the ball too. Going to have to do a good job trying to cage up those too.”

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LINCOLN CITY, Ore. (AP) — Drumming made the floor vibrate and singing filled the conference room of the Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City, on the Oregon coast, as hundreds in tribal regalia danced in a circle.

For the last 47 years, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians have held an annual powwow to celebrate regaining federal recognition. This month’s event, however, was especially significant: It came just two weeks after a federal court lifted restrictions on the tribe’s rights to hunt, fish and gather — restrictions tribal leaders had opposed for decades.

“We’re back to the way we were before,” Siletz Chairman Delores Pigsley said. “It feels really good.”

The Siletz is a confederation of over two dozen bands and tribes whose traditional homelands spanned western Oregon, as well as parts of northern California and southwestern Washington state. The federal government in the 1850s forced them onto a reservation on the Oregon coast, where they were confederated together as a single, federally recognized tribe despite their different backgrounds and languages.

In the 1950s and ‘60s, Congress revoked recognition of over 100 tribes, including the Siletz, under a policy known as “termination.” Affected tribes lost millions of acres of land as well as federal funding and services.

“The goal was to try and assimilate Native people, get them moved into cities,” said Matthew Campbell, deputy director of the Native American Rights Fund. “But also I think there was certainly a financial aspect to it. I think the United States was trying to see how it could limit its costs in terms of providing for tribal nations.”

Losing their lands and self-governance was painful, and the tribes fought for decades to regain federal recognition. In 1977, the Siletz became the second tribe to succeed, following the restoration of the Menominee Tribe in Wisconsin in 1973.

But to get a fraction of its land back — roughly 3,600 acres (1,457 hectares) of the 1.1-million-acre (445,000-hectare) reservation established for the tribe in 1855 — the Siletz tribe had to agree to a federal court order that restricted their hunting, fishing and gathering rights. It was only one of two tribes in the country, along with Oregon’s Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, compelled to do so to regain tribal land.

The settlement limited where tribal members could fish, hunt and gather for ceremonial and subsistence purposes, and it imposed caps on how many salmon, elk and deer could be harvested in a year. It was devastating, tribal chair Pigsley recalled: The tribe was forced to buy salmon for ceremonies because it couldn’t provide for itself, and people were arrested for hunting and fishing violations.

“Giving up those rights was a terrible thing,” Pigsley, who has led the tribe for 36 years, told The Associated Press earlier this year. “It was unfair at the time, and we’ve lived with it all these years.”

Decades later, Oregon and the U.S. came to recognize that the agreement subjecting the tribe to state hunting and fishing rules was biased, and they agreed to join the tribe in recommending to the court that the restrictions be lifted.

“The Governor of Oregon and Oregon’s congressional representatives have since acknowledged that the 1980 Agreement and Consent Decree were a product of their times and represented a biased and distorted position on tribal sovereignty, tribal traditions, and the Siletz Tribe’s ability and authority to manage and sustain wildlife populations it traditionally used for tribal ceremonial and subsistence purposes,” attorneys for the U.S., state and tribe wrote in a joint court filing.

Late last month, the tribe finally succeeded in having the court order vacated by a federal judge. And a separate agreement with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has given the tribe a greater role in regulating tribal hunting and fishing.

As Pigsley reflected on those who passed away before seeing the tribe regain its rights, she expressed hope about the next generation carrying on essential traditions.

“There’s a lot of youth out there that are learning tribal ways and culture,” she said. “It’s important today because we are trying to raise healthy families, meaning we need to get back to our natural foods.”

Among those celebrating and praying at the powwow was Tiffany Stuart, donning a basket cap her ancestors were known for weaving, and her 3-year-old daughter Kwestaani Chuski, whose name means “six butterflies” in the regional Athabaskan language from southwestern Oregon and northwestern California.

Given the restoration of rights, Stuart said, it was “very powerful for my kids to dance.”

“You dance for the people that can’t dance anymore,” she said.

EUGENE- The No. 1 Oregon Ducks are preparing to face the Washington Huskies in one of the nation’s most competitive rivalries, but for some of Oregon’s players, this will be the final time competing in this historic matchup. Senior linebacker Jeffrey Bassa spoke to the media after Tuesday’s practice, revealing what the rivalry means to him. 

“It means a lot,” said Bassa. “It means a lot to the people that have come before me, like all the alumni. I know it means a lot to the state of Oregon, the Pacific Northwest. Facing these guys the past three times has not come out to the result that we wanted. As we all know, last year was a real close game. We know what’s ahead of us and we’re focused on this week tremendously, so we’ve got to take care of business this week.” 

The Ducks have yet to beat the Huskies since Oregon head coach Dan Lanning took over the program two seasons ago. In 2022, Washington handed Oregon a 34-31 loss at Autzen Stadium. Last season, the Ducks lost to the Huskies on two separate occasions, losing 36-33 in Seattle and 34-31 in the Pac-12 Championship Game, a loss that ruined Oregon’s chances of making the College Football Playoff. 

“You always feel that sour taste in the back of your mouth,” said Bassa of Oregon’s three consecutive losses to Washington. 

Now, the Ducks will have their shot at redemption as they host the Washington Huskies at home in Autzen Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 30. 

When Dan Lanning took over Oregon’s football program in 2022, Bassa had already completed a full season with the Ducks. While coaching changes often lead many players to transfer and follow their former coaches to new destinations, Bassa chose to stay at Oregon and play under a new staff. He stuck with Lanning through the challenges of his first season as head coach and is now part of a team that is contending for a national championship. 

“I think that shows great examples of growth. The first year was kind of up and down, and then the next year, we got better and better. This year, we’re putting it all together,” said Bassa. “I’ve developed as a man on and off the field.” 

Although the Ducks have struggled against the Huskies in the past three matchups, Oregon is ready to come out on top and put an end to its 0-3 losing streak against Washington. However, the Ducks aren’t focused on previous losses; according to Bassa, the team is focused on the present. 

“We’re focused on the moment, being where our feet are right now. It’s a new team, you know, but it’s the same program. So we’re still going to have the same mentality that we’ve had for the past couple of years. We’re just going to be dialed in, focused on the game at hand.” 

The Washington game may also be Bassa’s final game at Autzen Stadium and will be his senior night. Throughout Bassa’s time at Oregon, he has emerged as one of the team’s leaders and a highly influential player. However, his time as a Duck is running out, as after the season, Bassa will be looking to achieve another goal: playing in the NFL. However, he hopes to leave a legacy at Oregon. 

“I want to be known as one of the best linebackers to come through Oregon. One of the best communicators to come through Oregon, and just one of the best leaders to come to this program as well. I think that I’ve been doing a great job of that so far. My legacy here is not very far from over, but that’s what I want to be known for,” said Bassa.

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