Oregon
How to Watch Oregon Ducks vs. UCLA Bruins: Channel, Streaming, Preview, Prediction
EUGENE- The No. 8 Oregon Ducks football team is preparing for its upcoming Big Ten conference debut on Saturday, Sept. 28 against a familiar opponent: the UCLA Bruins. The Ducks and Bruins will kick off at 8 p.m. in a late-night game under the lights of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
The Ducks enter conference play looking to remain undefeated. Oregon improved to 3-0 following a 49-14 win over their in-state rivals, the Oregon State Beavers, in their most recent matchup prior to their bye week.
“Our guys come out here and work every single week,” said Oregon coach Dan Lanning. “Sometimes a 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.”
How to Watch
No. 8 Oregon (3-0) kicks off at 8 p.m. PT at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The game is broadcast on FOX.
The game will also be available on streaming services such as Sling TV, FUBO, and YouTube TV.
Preview
Oregon is looking to keep up its momentum as the team heads into the Rose Bowl Saturday night to face UCLA. Various Ducks have been instrumental to Oregon’s success this season. Oregon starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel has thrown for 914 yards and 6 touchdowns on 84 percent passing. Wide receiver Tez Johnson leads the Ducks with 22 receptions for 190 yards and two touchdowns, while tight end Terrance Ferguson has 159 receiving yards as well on the year.
Oregon has struggled on the offensive line, especially with the absence of center Matthew Bedford, who will not be available against UCLA on Saturday, 28th. Despite flaws on the offensive line, other position groups on Oregon’s defense have been successful. Linebacker and dual-sport athlete Bryce Boettcher has a team-high 25 total tackles, while Matayo Uiagalelei has two sacks on the season so far. Oregon’s secondary has also shown strength in Oregon’s non-conference games. Defensive backs Brandon Johnson and Nikko Reed each have an interception on the season, while Washington transfer cornerback Jabbar Muhammed has been able to lock down opponents’ top receivers.
UCLA (1-2), on the other hand, is off to a relatively rough start this season. The Bruins are looking to prove themselves after back-to-back losses, including a 34-17 loss to LSU on Saturday, Sept. 21. However, UCLA’s previous losses are no reason to count them out of this game. Although the Bruins lost to LSU, they managed to stay in the game and walked into halftime tied against one of the nation’s top football powerhouses.
UCLA has managed to cover the spread in seven of its last eight games as an underdog when playing with a rest disadvantage, while Oregon has failed to cover the spread in its last four games as a favorite when playing with a rest advantage.
UCLA receiver Rico Flores Jr. has dominated the Bruins’ offense, leading the team with nine catches for 160 yards and a touchdown. Running back TJ Harden leads the team in rushing with 72 yards. Defensively, Kain Medrano and Carson Schwesinger each have a team-high 21 total tackles with Medrano adding 18 solo tackles.
Although there have been high points for the Bruins, the likelihood of UCLA pulling off an upset against the No. 8 Ducks is low. Oregon has won each of its last 18 September games against non-AP-ranked teams, while UCLA has lost four of its last five games against conference opponents.
UCLA’s run game has been less than successful so far this season, which is not ideal when going up against Oregon’s defense, which managed to limit Heisman hopeful running back Ashton Jeanty earlier this season.
Prediction:
While UCLA has shown flashes of potential, Oregon is the clear favorite in this matchup. The Ducks have a strong offense, a solid defense, and a proven track record of success in September games. Additionally, UCLA’s run game has struggled this season, which could be a major problem against Oregon’s defense.
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The Jets, with their 16th pick of Thursday’s first round of the NFL Draft, might have been tempted to move up to grab one of the set of hands that appealed to them in this draft class. But the Green & White remained patient and stayed put at 16 and were rewarded by being able to select Kenyon Sadiq, the draft’s top tight end out of Oregon.
“It’s unreal, man. Need to be the Jets. It’s special,” said Sadiq of being selected 16th overall and by the Green & White. “My sister currently lives in New York, so I’m happy to get down there. But great interactions with all the staff, in meetings and everything. So I’m beyond excited, super grateful.
“David Bailey said it already,” Sadiq added about Bailey, the Texas Tech edge taken second overall. “This organization is trending in the right direction. And I’m just a piece that can help and I’m ready to help. Whatever the team needs me to do, I’m going to do it.”
Sadiq, known by some as “Sadiq the Freak,” put his athleticism and receiving skills on full display last season with an Oregon single-season tight ends record of 51 catches for 560 yards and 8 receiving touchdowns, which led all FBS tight ends. He was named a second-team All-American and the Big Ten TE of the Year and was a finalist for the John Mackey Award, which goes to the nation’s top tight.
After the season’s end, Sadiq went to the NFL Combine in February and demonstrated some of that freakishness in dominating his position. He turned in a 4.39-second 40, best among TEs not only this year but for the past 14 Combines. He also notched a 43.5-inch vertical leap, an 11-1 broad jump and 26 reps in the bench press, all second at his position.
“I’ve got all the attributes,” he told the Jets media Thursday. “I mean, the Combine showed that.”
Sadiq joins a tight ends room that is now brimming with talent. Mason Taylor, last year’s second-rounder (42nd overall) out of LSU and Jeremy Ruckert, their 2022 third-rounder (101st) are already there and the group will be helpful not only to new/old veteran starting QB Geno Smith but also the Breece Hall-lead running game.
What exactly will Sadiq add to the room, the offense and the ’26 Green & White?
“I think it’s versatility, speed and toughness, bro, seriously,” he said. “I think I can help in the running and passing game on top of that. I’m sure I’m on special teams as well. That’s what I did at Oregon, and that’s what I’ll continue to do. I can create separation, but I can also go hit someone. Obviously, the NFL is different. I’m going to have to clean some things up. But, man, I’m going to go hit somebody. I’m not going to be scared.”
Sadiq is only the fourth Oregon player to be drafted by the Jets and the first in 20 years, since QB Kellen Clemens came to the Green & White in 2006 in Round 2. Other Ducks to become Jets through the draft were DB Reggie Grant in Round 9 of the 1978 draft and TE Blake Spence in the fifth round in 1998.
And the choice may well extend the Green & White’s track record of taking good to very good TEs in Round 1. Johnny Mitchell got the ball rolling in 1992 and was followed by Kyle Brady in 1996, Anthony Becht in 2000 and Dustin Keller in 2008.
The good times keep on rolling for the Oregon Ducks in the recruiting world. Dan Lanning and the Ducks scored a massive commitment from five-star quarterback Will Mencl out of Chandler, Arizona.
Oregon had been rumored to be leading the race for Mencl’s services for months, but the No. 1 quarterback in the country, per Rivals, cleared the air and committed to the Ducks on Wednesday evening. Mencl chose the Ducks over Auburn and Penn State, both of which battled hard for him down the stretch.
However, Mencl has been connected to Oregon for a long time. While he was offered last fall before breaking out in his junior season, Mencl has been a fan of the program long before he popped up on the Ducks’ recruiting radar. In a post shared by Rivals recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong, Mencl was announced as a quarterback for the Ducks when he was a kid at the 2019 NFL Draft fan experience in 2019.
Now, Mencl is ready to don the green and yellow for real and make his childhood dreams come true. The Ducks have made a point to get Mencl on campus as often as possible and as recently as last week. The continued connection between both sides is ultimately what made the decision easy for the nation’s top passer. Mencl said he told Lanning and the Oregon staff about his decision on Sunday.
“The biggest thing was the relationship with the staff,” Mencl said after committing. “I feel like that continued to grow over time, especially when I first got there last spring. Being able to sit down with Coach Koa, really being an underlooked guy at that time, and kind of blowing up my junior season. And then, the path to the NFL. You can’t deny what they do with quarterbacks and the type of scheme they run. I felt like that was the best fit for me and my family to get to the next level.”
Koa Ka’ai, Oregon’s new quarterback coach, made waves earlier in the offseason after his recruiting test about ice cream flavors went viral, but that doesn’t appear to have scared Mencl off. In fact, the two have a close connection that Oregon hopes will translate to success on the field in the near future.
“My relationship with Coach Koa, I feel like that is super, super strong,” Mencl told Rivals. “I’ve had a lot of discussions with Coach Lanning about the culture there and how they’re going to continue to sustain greatness throughout the program.”
Mencl exploded onto the national recruiting scene with a massive junior season for Chandler. He completed more than 70% of his passes for 3,815 yards and 33 touchdowns against five interceptions in his junior season, leading Chandler to a state title berth. He also rushed for 741 yards and an additional 17 touchdowns.
The Ducks expect to have some competition for Mencl to compete with when he joins the team for the 2027 season, with Dylan Raiola and Akili Smith Jr. already on the roster and competing for a role as the backup. Oregon has gone to the transfer portal as well in recent seasons, finding success with Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and now Dante Moore.
Oregon has recruited well at quarterback in the past, establishing an NFL pedigree that attracted Mencl. Maybe he will be the one to buck the trend and give the Ducks a true, homegrown product under center.
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