Oregon
Oregon Ducks Terrance Ferguson: ‘Confident, Not Cocky’ In Big Ten Championship Game Berth
The No. 1 Oregon Ducks will face off against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Big Ten Championship game on Saturday night.
Ducks senior tight end Terrance Ferguson spoke on Monday about the opportunity the Ducks have in front of them and how they look to shake off their last two conference championship game losses.
Ferguson said this summer, his family booked Air BNB lodging for Indianapolis/Big Ten Championship game.
“In a confident way, not cocky, we expected this,” Ferguson said.
Terrance Ferguson Still Thinks About Pac-12 Championship Game Losses
The Oregon Ducks will get the opportunity to win the Big Ten Championship in their first year in the conference on Saturday night vs. Penn State.
For Ducks tight end Terrance Ferguson, this game is larger than just this season. Ferguson has been on two previous Oregon teams that made it to the Pac-12 Conference Championship games and lost (2021, 2023.)
Ferguson still thinks about those games and is eager to turn the tide on Saturday.
“When you get to a championship game and you come up short like we did last year, it stays with you 365 days,” Ferguson said. “I wake up thinking about that game.”
The game Ferguson is talking about? The Ducks heartbreaking 34-31 loss to the Washington Huskies in the 2023 Pac-12 championship game.
“It definitely stays with you. You definitely sit a little longer on the sideline and watch the confetti fall with the opponents colors,” Ferguson said. “I’ve been a part of that twice and it’s not a good feeling.”
This group can put that behind them and get over the conference championship hump with a win on Saturday.
“Super excited for this weekend,” Ferguson said. “We’re just excited for the opportunity to go out there and play those guys.”
Terrance Ferguson Impressed By Penn State Tight End Tyler Warren
Terrance Ferguson spoke about what makes Penn State such a tough team. Nittany Lions tight end Tyler Warren has gotten his attention. What makes Warren so good?
“His ability to be anything they ask of him. I think he’s done a great job of that,” Ferguson said. “I like watching the tape because as a tight end, watching another tight end like that is pretty special.”
Tyler Warren has 81 receptions for 978 yards and six touchdowns on the season. He has the most career receiving touchdowns by a tight end in Penn State History with 17.
Additionally, Warren this season has 21 carries for 189 yards and four touchdown. He is also a terrific blocker. A true “do-it-all” player.
Terrance Ferguson: “They Are A Really Good Defense”
“Across the board, they are a really good defense,” Ferguson said. “They play very strong. Up front they got a lot of big guys that move people.”
Penn State has one of the best defenses in the country loaded with good players. Who are some of the players that have stood out to Terrance Ferguson?
“No. 11 (Abdul Carter). Really good player. Very twitchy, very aggressive,” Ferguson said. “No. 1 (Jaylen Reed) in the back. Head of the defense. I look forward to playing against those guys because they are elite players.”
Defensive tackle Abdul Carter leads the Nittany Lions with 10 sacks and safety Jaylen Reed leads them with three interceptions this season.
The Ducks offense will have their hands full with this defense, but to be the best you have to beat the best.
“The best players play the best players,” Ferguson said.
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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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‘Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,’ a Wine Enthusiast contributor said of an Oregon wine
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Wine Enthusiast released a list of the top 40 sparkling wines around the world in 2026 – highlighting two bottles of bubbly from Oregon.
“While it can seem like you need a fortune to enjoy high quality sparkling wine, you honestly don’t. Excellent affordable bubbles are being produced around the world, often in places you might not expect. Each of the selections on our inaugural Top 40 Sparkling Wines list delivers personality, freshness, and celebration for under $75,” Wine Enthusiast wrote.
Wine Enthusiast divided its list into separate sparkling categories including, Champagne, Italian Bollicine, American sparkling and bottles $25 and under.
Snagging a spot on the American sparkling list: Corollary Wines in McMinnville.
Corollarly’s 2021 Momtazi Carbonic Rosé Pinot Noir scored 96 points from Wine Enthusiast.
“This is a Peter Max print of a wine, with vivid aromas and flavors to match the wine’s electric Kool-Aid color. It is filled to the brim with aromas and flavors of macerated strawberries, candied rose petals, apricots, and a bitter note similar to watermelon rind. Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,” wrote Wine Enthusiast contributor Michael Alberty.
The second Oregon winery to earn a spot on the list: Lytle-Barnett in Dundee.
Wine Enthusiast also gave Lytle-Barnett’s 2018 Brut Rosé Pinot Noir Chardonnay 96 points.
“Bubbles as persistent as an eight-year-old with a question deliver aromas of dried rose petals, macerated strawberries, and a touch of fresh hay and talc. This 70/30 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blend is packed with flavors of lemon zest, Honeycrisp apple slices drizzled in caramel, and a dollop of raspberry,” Alberty wrote.
The nods to Corollary and Lytle-Barnett come as the wineries recently helped launch Method Oregon, a nonprofit made up of 50 Oregon wineries aiming to turn Oregon into a global sparkling wine destination.
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