The Oregon Ducks football schedule is ranked by Sporting News to be the 14th toughest schedule in the Big Ten Conference for the 2025-26 season.
It is a nice change for the Ducks, who had a tough schedule last year in their inaugural Big Ten season that saw Oregon host the Ohio State Buckeyes, travel to Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan Wolverines, and travel to Madison to battle the Wisconsin Badgers.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning speaks during a press availability Thursday, March 13, 2025, at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Sporting News ranked all the Big Ten teams’ schedules for the 2025-26 season, and decided that Wisconsin has the toughest schedule, and Illinois has the easiest. Sporting News ranked the Ducks as having the 14th toughest schedule, tied with Michigan and Maryland.
1. Wisconsin 2. Rutgers 3. USC 4. Ohio State 5. Purdue 6. Washington 7. Northwestern 8. Indiana 9. Minnesota 10. UCLA 11. Penn State 12. Iowa 13. Nebraska T-14. Michigan T-14. Maryland T-14. Oregon 17. Michigan State 18. Illinois
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Some good news for Oregon fans is that Big Ten rivals Ohio State have the fourth-toughest schedule according to Sporting News. The Buckeyes take on Texas in a massive non-conference game to open the season, and have to play Penn State, Michigan in Ann Arbor, where they have not won since 2019, and Illinois.
Oregon’s fierce rivals Washington have the No. 6 toughest schedule in the Big Ten, according to Sporting News. The Huskies will host both Oregon and Ohio State, while traveling on the road to Ann Arbor to play Michigan.
The Ducks get a few bounces to go their way this season when it comes to the schedule. Oregon will dodge both Ohio State and Michigan, two teams they had to play last year. In lieu of playing Ohio State and Michigan, the Ducks will travel to Penn State for the Nittany Lions’ annual “whiteout game” in week five on the 2025-26 season.
Penn State head football coach James Franklin reacts to something on the sideline during the Blue-White game at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, April 26, 2025, in State College. The White team defeated the Blue team, 10-8. / Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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After Penn State, the Ducks’ schedule drops off quite a bit in terms to toughness. Oregon will have a bye week after the Penn State game, followed by welcoming Indiana and Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti to Autzen Stadium. Oregon will follow that up with a trip to Rutgers, before coming home and doing battle with the Badgers, who narrowly lost to the Ducks last year in a defensive battle, as the Ducks walked out of Camp Randall with a 16-13 win.
Oregon’s back half of the schedule won’t necessarily be a cakewalk, but it should be manageable for Ducks coach Dan Lanning and his staff. The Ducks should be favored in their final four games of the season. The Ducks travel to Iowa City to play Iowa before returning home to do battle with Minnesota and newly extended Golden Gophers coach PJ Fleck.
Sep 23, 2023; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach PJ Fleck on the field before the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images / David Banks-Imagn Images
The Ducks will follow up the Minnesota bout with a visit from USC to Autzen Stadium, a building in which USC has not won since 2011. Oregon will close out its regular season with a trip up north to Seattle to play Washington, a place Oregon hasn’t won at since 2021. The Ducks’ easier schedule certainly helps their chances at making it back to the College Football Playoff.
The University of Oregon’s Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to approve a $1.55 billion operating budget for the next fiscal year.
But they asked university leadership to return with an amended proposal by Dec. 15, when more details about future budget cuts will be known.
FILE — The Board of Trustees recently approved next year’s budget for the University of Oregon. The vote comes several weeks after the school’s president announced that he wants the university to reduce its annual budget as revenues and out-of-state enrollment decline.
Brian Bull / KLCC
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The vote comes several weeks after University of Oregon President Karl Scholz announced that he wants the school to reduce its annual budget by around $65 million.
At a trustees meeting Monday, Scholz said the estimated budget shortfall for next year is just around $23 million. But he said out-of-state enrollment is below historical norms for the second year in a row, and it’s unlikely to bounce back.
“One year can be an aberration. Two years is a pattern,” said Scholz. “And I believe we have to treat it as a new reality.”
Scholz said in May that discussions about the budget would happen over a six-month period. He said no final decisions about cuts would be made over this summer.
On Monday, UO Senate President Dyana Mason told trustees that the Senate had approved a new process to allow for community feedback in the cost-cutting process.
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Mason said the provost will work with the deans on budget proposals, finding “clear rationale” for why programs are considered for elimination.
The provost would then bring those proposals to the Senate Committee for Academic Modifications—which includes staff, faculty and students—for feedback.
Once the plans are nearly finalized, the Senate could then hold a period for public comment.
Mason told trustees that a six-month timeline is better than the three months that frustrated some staff last year, but she recommended taking however much time is necessary.
“The worst situation would be rushing forward to make decisions without appropriate evidence, data, feedback from the people that are most in the know about the impact on our students,” said Mason.
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UO’s Board of Trustees Chair Steve Holwerda said that every week that university delays the decisions could cost them millions of dollars.
Nathan Wilk is a reporter with the KLCC newsroom.This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
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Oregon’s juvenile justice system has been reshaped in recent years by a sweeping reform law that changed how the state handles minors accused of serious crimes.
Senate Bill 1008, which took effect in 2020, ended automatic transfers of juveniles into adult court and eliminated life without parole sentences for juveniles. The law also created “second-look” hearings and established parole eligibility after 15 years for certain offenders who committed crimes before turning 18.
To help explain the law and its impact, KVAL’s Frannie Pedersen put together a timeline video tracing the history of Senate Bill 1008, from the passage of Measure 11 in 1994 to the reforms that later reshaped Oregon’s juvenile justice system.
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The video breaks down how the law changed, why lawmakers pushed for reform, and how SB 1008 continues to influence Oregon’s justice system today. Viewers can watch the full video for a detailed timeline and explanation of the changes.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A New Jersey man was sentenced to federal prison last Friday for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon.
Mark T. Eager, 34, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release.
“This defendant showed a blatant disregard for human life by trafficking fentanyl across the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Bradford. “My office will continue to pursue those who profit from poisoning our communities, and we will use every available resource and partnership to combat fentanyl trafficking and keep Oregonians safe.”
“This investigation brought together law enforcement agencies from across the nation,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle acting Special Agent in Charge April Miller. “Homeland Security Investigations special agents from Portland, Newark, and Houston contributed to the case, along with the Portland Police Bureau and HIDTA HIT officers, who were instrumental in identifying Eager. His 11-year sentence sends a clear message: no matter where you are in the country or the world, if you attempt to sell narcotics online to Americans, we will find you.”
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“Fentanyl trafficking poses a grave threat to communities across the United States, and Homeland Security Investigations is committed to working with our partners to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks responsible,” said HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas. “This case demonstrates the power of interagency collaboration under the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, leveraging resources from across the country to hold traffickers accountable and protect the American people. We will continue to pursue those who endanger lives through the distribution of dangerous synthetic opioids, and we remain steadfast in our mission to safeguard our communities from the violence and instability caused by transnational criminal organizations.”
“By following this offender’s digital trail, Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners nationwide executed federal search warrants, dismantled an active dark web fentanyl packaging operation and recovered deadly amounts of fentanyl, thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency, and a trove of electronic devices and packaging materials,” said HSI Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas. “This case is a powerful example of how coordinated, data-driven investigations can disrupt dangerous networks and help protect our communities from lethal synthetic opioids.”
According to court documents, from November 2023 through June 2024, Eager and his co-conspirator sold fentanyl on the Dark Net and Telegram. Eager operated as the vendor WRSEH10 and marketed the fentanyl as “China White Synthetic Heroin.”
In June 2024, HSI agents executed search warrants on two residences associated with Eager in Kearny, New Jersey, and seized over 360 grams of powdered fentanyl, counterfeit M30 pills, drug ledgers, cellular phones, two computers, and drug packaging consistent with three deliveries that were sent to Oregon.
On September 4, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging Eager with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl.
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On February 4, 2026, Eager pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
HSI Portland and HSI Houston investigated this case with assistance from HSI Newark, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Interdiction Task Force (HIT). Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin prosecuted the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey assisted the U.S. Attorney’s in Oregon in obtaining the search warrants that were executed in Kearny.
