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PFF says Oregon has one of nation’s easiest schedules in 2023

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PFF says Oregon has one of nation’s easiest schedules in 2023


Making it through the Pac-12 this season and landing a spot in the conference championship game is going to be no easy feat. If there is a team who gets out of the conference and into the College Football Playoff, nobody is going to be able to say that they didn’t earn it.

Teams like USC, Oregon, Washington, Utah, and Oregon State have all found their way into preseason top-25 rankings, and quarterbacks from a handful of schools are already being talked about as Heisman Trophy candidates before the season even starts.

Despite this, there are a handful of Pac-12 teams who are considered as having among the easiest schedules in the nation. With a little more than a month to go until the start of the season, Pro Football Focus looked at records from the 2022 season to identify which 10 teams have the easiest path in 2023.

While this may not be a perfect mode of determining schedule difficulty — thanks to the transfer portal, teams sometimes look completely different from one year to the next — it does give us one way to look at scheduling ease across the nation.

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The Oregon Ducks have one of the easiest slates of games, according to PFF. Here’s where they rank among the top 10.

1

Louisville Cardinals

Toughest Games

  • vs. NC State
  • vs. Notre Dame
  • vs. Miami
  • vs. Kentucky

Easiest Games

  • vs. Georgia Tech
  • vs. Murray State
  • vs. Indiana
  • vs. Boston College
  • vs. Virginia Tech

ESPN FPI Record Projection: 6.9-5.2


Analysis: The game against Notre Dame will definitely be tough, and there’s a good chance that both NC State and Miami are good teams this year. However, getting Murray State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Boston College, and Virginia Tech all on the schedule is definitely favorable.

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2

Washington State Cougars

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Toughest Games

  • vs. Wisconsin
  • vs. Oregon State
  • vs. Oregon
  • vs. Washington

Easiest Games

  • vs. Colorado State
  • vs. Northern Colorado
  • vs. Arizona
  • vs. Arizona State
  • vs. Stanford
  • vs. California
  • vs. Colorado

ESPN FPI Record Projection: 5.5-6.5


Analysis: The Cougars are in an interesting spot in the Pac-12, They feel like the best bad team in the conference and should be able to beat the likes of Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford, Cal, and Colorado. However, I don’t like their chances against the top of the conference — Oregon, Washington, Oregon State — on their schedule.

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3

Iowa Hawkeyes

Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports

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Toughest Games

  • vs. Penn State
  • vs. Michigan State
  • vs. Wisconsin
  • vs. Nebraska

Easiest Games

  • vs. South Dakota State
  • vs. Utah State
  • vs. Western Michigan
  • vs. Northwestern
  • vs. Rutgers
  • vs. Illinois

ESPN FPI Record Projection: 7.4-4.8


Analysis: If Iowa’s offense can find a rhythm this year, then they could be a really solid team. The lighter side of their schedule is extremely winnable, with games against South Dakota State, Utah State, and Western Michigan all chalked up as W’s, and conference games against Northwestern, Rutgers, and Illinois not creating much stress.

4

Nebraska Cornhuskers

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Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Toughest Games

  • vs. Michigan
  • vs. Michigan State
  • vs. Wisconsin
  • vs. Iowa

Easiest Games

  • vs. Colorado
  • vs. Northern Illinois
  • vs. Louisiana Tech
  • vs. Illinois
  • vs. Purdue
  • vs. Maryland

ESPN FPI Record Projection: 5.7-6.3


Analysis: We’ll see how good Matt Rhule’s team can be in his first year. There are a few tough games on the schedule, but a lineup of Colorado, Northern Illinois, Virginia Tech, Illinois, Purdue, and Maryland could make things easy for Nebraska.

5

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TCU Horned Frogs

Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Toughest Games

  • vs. Kansas State
  • vs. Texas Tech
  • vs. Texas
  • vs. Baylor
  • vs. Oklahoma

Easiest Games

  • vs. Colorado
  • vs. Nicholls State
  • vs. Houston
  • vs. SMU
  • vs. West Virginia
  • vs. Iowa State

ESPN FPI Record Projection: 8.1-4.1


Analysis: I’m not sure that I agree with PFF saying TCU has one of the easiest schedules in the nation. The light games — Houston, SMU, Nicholls State, etc. — are very light, but there’s a tough slate of opponents with Kansas State, Texas, and Oklahoma.

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6

Miami Hurricanes

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Toughest Games

  • vs. Texas A&M
  • vs. North Carolina
  • vs. Clemson
  • vs. Florida State

Easiest Games

  • vs. Miami (Ohio)
  • vs. Bethune Cookman
  • vs. Temple
  • vs. Virginia
  • vs. Boston College

ESPN FPI Record Projection: 7.8-4.5


Analysis: The top of the ACC could be tough for Miami, but Mario Cristobal gets a nice slate of games against teams like Miami (Ohio), Bethune Cookman, Temple, Virginia, and Boston College. All of those should be wins for the Hurricanes, but we saw what happened against Middle Tennessee last year.

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7

USC Trojans

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Toughest Games

  • vs. Notre Dame
  • vs. Utah
  • vs. Washington
  • vs. Oregon

Easiest Games

  • vs. San Jose State
  • vs. Nevada
  • vs. Stanford
  • vs. Arizona State
  • vs. Colorado
  • vs. Arizona
  • vs. California

ESPN FPI Record Projection: 10.3-2.4


Analysis: The tough games on USC’s schedule are very tough, but the other filler games are going to be a cakewalk for the Trojans. San Jose State, Nevada, Stanford, Colorado, California, and Colorado should all be chalked up as easy wins right now.

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8

Oregon Ducks

(Photo by Tom Hauck/Getty Images)

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Toughest Games

  • vs. Texas Tech
  • vs. Washington
  • vs. Utah
  • vs. USC
  • vs. Oregon State

Easiest Games

  • vs. Portland State
  • vs. Hawaii
  • vs. Colorado
  • vs. Stanford
  • vs. California
  • vs. Washington State
  • vs. Arizona State

ESPN FPI Record Projection: 9.1-3.3


Analysis: Again, the tough games on Oregon’s schedule are among the toughest that anyone in the conference will face, but the easy games should be stress-free wins if all goes right.

9

Maryland Terrapins

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Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Toughest Games

  • vs. Michigan State
  • vs. Ohio State
  • vs. Penn State
  • vs. Michigan

Easiest Games

  • vs. Towson
  • vs. Charlotte
  • vs. Virginia
  • vs. Indiana
  • vs. Illinois
  • vs. Northwestern
  • vs. Rutgers

ESPN FPI Record Projection: 6.6-5.4


Analysis: Maryland has to play the meat of the Big Ten, with games against Michigan and Ohio State acting as the marquees. However, the rest of the schedule should features wins against Towson, Charlotte, Virginia, Illinois, and Rutgers.

10

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Wisconsin Badgers

Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports

Toughest Games

  • vs. Washington State
  • vs. Iowa
  • vs. Ohio State
  • vs. Nebraska

Easiest Games

  • vs. Buffalo
  • vs. Georgia Southern
  • vs. Illinois
  • vs. Indiana
  • vs. Northwestern

ESPN FPI Record Projection: 8.6-3.8


Analysis: I personally would put Wisconsin’s schedule among the easiest in the nation. They play only one top team in the Big Ten with Ohio State, and they have games against Buffalo, Georiga Southern, Illinois, Indiana, and Northwestern. That’s as easy as it gets.

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Oregon

Oregon man pleads guilty to stalking UConn basketball star Paige Bueckers

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Oregon man pleads guilty to stalking UConn basketball star Paige Bueckers


An Oregon man pleaded guilty Wednesday in a Connecticut superior court to stalking and harassing University of Connecticut basketball star guard Paige Bueckers, ESPN reported.

Robert Cole Parmalee, 40, of Grants Pass, was arrested in September on charges of breach of peace, stalking and second-degree harassment of Bueckers.

A protective order will remain in place until 2064, according to court records.

Parmalee received a one-year suspended sentence and three years probation, during which time he is barred from Connecticut and any arenas, hotels or practice facilities where the UConn basketball team is present, according to ESPN.

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UConn campus police became aware of Parmalee in June after he allegedly sent “rambling” emails to university staff that said he was trying to marry a member of the basketball team, according to ESPN. Parmalee also is identified as “Parmelee.”

Parmalee also posted on social media about wanting to marry Bueckers, including sharing a post with a fake wedding invitation and posting pictures of him with an engagement ring on his tongue. In an August TikTok post, Parmalee wrote, “I’m coming to UCONN Paige Madison Bueckers, I’ll be in Hartford tomorrow morning,” shared photos of himself at an airport with tickets.

Oregon court records show Parmalee has a history of criminal charges going back to 2002, including sexual abuse, harassment, driving under the influence and possession of methamphetamines.

In 2023, he was arrested after his roommates alleged he set the house on fire in Josephine County in order to get money for a bigger house, court records show. The case was dismissed after a certified mental health evaluator found him unable to aid and assist in his own defense.

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The evaluator reported Parmalee appeared to be displaying a psychotic disorder and likely a schizophrenia spectrum disorder.

Isabel Funk covers breaking news and public safety for the Statesman Journal. Funk can be reached at ifunk@statesmanjournal.com or on X at @isabeldfunk



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Strong winds knock out power to thousands on Oregon coast

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Strong winds knock out power to thousands on Oregon coast


CANNON BEACH, Ore. (KPTV) – Strong winds overnight caused power outages throughout northwest Oregon and southwest Washington.

On Tuesday, the National Weather Service issued a High Wind Warning along the Oregon coastline and a Wind Advisory in the I-5 corridor. The winds began to calm by 4 a.m. Wednesday.

SHARE YOUR STORM PHOTOS HERE

As of 6:35 a.m., Pacific Power was reporting about 16,632 customers without power from Cannon Beach to Astoria. About 235 customers were without power in the Lincoln City area.

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Pacific Power confirmed the outages were due to storm damage. Crews are working to make repairs and restore service.

The Jewell School District, the Neah-Kah-Nie School District and the Warrenton-Hammond School District will all be starting on a two-hour delay due to power outages on the coast.

SEE ALSO:

This cold, rainy weather in the Portland metro is a reminder that the winter storm season is nearly here.

Portland General Electric was reporting about 1,860 customers without power throughout their service area Wednesday morning.

Due to power outages, the Colton School District in Clackamas County is starting three hours late Wednesday.

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Welches School (K-8) and Firwood Elementary in the Oregon Trail School District will be closed due to no power.

Vancouver police responded to a downed tree on Northwest Lincoln Avenue between Northwest 59th Street and Northwest 62nd Street. Crews quickly cleaned up the debris and reopened the roadway.

Clark PUD was reporting about 667 customers were without power just before 7 a.m.

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View the latest weather forecast from the FOX 12 Weather team here.





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Oregon women’s basketball crushes Air Force

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Oregon women’s basketball crushes Air Force


It was a one-sided affair Tuesday night as the Oregon Ducks routed Air Force 98-36 in a nonconference women’s basketball matchup in Eugene.

Phillipina Kyei scored 14 points in 18 minutes, and Nani Falatea and Sarah Rambus added 11 points each for the Ducks (8-3) as 4,551 watched at Matthew Knight Arena.

Oregon got contributions from up and down the roster, with 10 players scoring at least eight points and no one needing to play more than Deja Kelly’s 22 minutes. Kelly finished with eight points, eight rebounds and four assists. Elisa Mevius added eight points and eight assists.

The Ducks, who entered having lost three of their past four games, handed the Falcons (9-2) their second loss of the season and first since Air Force fell 57-51 to Army in overtime on Nov. 15.

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Oregon raced to a 22-9 lead by the end of the first quarter and then matched that score in the second quarter for a 44-18 halftime lead. The Ducks continued to pull away in the second half, steadily increasing their lead the rest of the way. A 21-0 run in the fourth quarter extended Oregon’s lead to 65 before the Falcons trimmed it to a 62-point final margin.

The Ducks shot 58.9% from the field and held Air Force to 23.2% shooting. Oregon scored 68 points in the paint, 56 points on layups and 32 points off of turnovers. The Ducks also had a 23-0 advantage in fast-break points and racked up 31 assists compared with seven for the Falcons.

— Joel Odom



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