Good Luck Ducks, Week 2: Yo Soy Un Pistolero

The Ducks tangle with their first FBS opponent of the season.

The first Oregon game of the year went about as well as anyone could have hoped for. In stark contrast to the consternation that loomed over the first couple of games in the 2024 season, which of course eventually resulted in the Ducks taking the Big Ten title, last Saturday's win over Montana State was quite the cake walk. Of course (of course!) the Bobcats are an FCS team, but if there was ever a time for an FCS team to strike, it's going to be at the start of a season.

Next up on the docket is an appointment with Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are somewhat of a rarity these days, a team that actually stayed with their conference (Big 12!) amongst so much maneuvering and money grabbing. Another sign of surprising stability is that their head coach (Mike Gundy) has been leading the program for a couple of decades, which is something like several eternities by 2025 standards. They're also coming off of a dreadful 3-9 season, although they started things off this year on a positive note with a win over an FCS program.

That's probably where the similarities end with these two schools. Oregon's Dante Moore era got off to a nice start, with the redshirt sophomore looking pretty impressive, albeit against noticeably inferior competition. Moore seemingly has a million different people to throw to on the field even after some significant injuries to the receiver core along with a couple of big departures due to graduation. Their backfield is so stacked that prized transfer Makhi Hughes barely touched the ball, although in the Dan Lanning era it's always been difficult to evaluate what the team is going to look like in the long run as Lanning seems to treat most of these nonconference games like an NFL preseason.

Notes and miscellany:

• This will be the second time in three days that one of my football teams is facing a Cowboys team. Of course, the rivalry between Oregon and Oklahoma State doesn't really exist (unlike Dallas vs. Philly), but it will always make me recall Dez Bryant (boooo!) and the 2008 Holiday Bowl.
• Opponent fun fact: Oklahoma State's mascot for more than 100 years is Pistol Pete, someone who doesn't have the look of someone you'd want to mess with, even if he's a bit bow-legged.
• Opponent history: Oregon won their only meeting, the aforementioned 2008 Holiday Bowl. I do miss those occasional Pac-12(10) / Big 12 games and I would have guessed that they played the Cowboys more than just the one time.
• Game time is 12:30 PM PDT on CBS in Eugene. Go Ducks!