Purdue Opponent Preview: Oregon

Purdue enters Year Two of the Ryan Walters era looking for growth following a 4-8 debut campaign. The Boilermakers will again face one of the nation’s most demanding schedules, a daunting proposition as they hope to return to postseason play.

Throughout the summer, GoldandBlack.com will preview each of Purdue’s 2024 opponents. Today, we take a look at the Oregon Ducks with the help of Justin Hopkins from ScoopDuck.

The overview

Purdue and Oregon, now conference foes, will meet for the fourth time. The Boilermakers drowned the Ducks, 13-7, way back in 1979, while Oregon swept Purdue in a home-and-home series in 2008 and 2009. All three matchups in the series history have been decided by six points or less.

This game will mark Purdue’s first Big Ten matchup against one of the former Pac-12 programs. Purdue does not face UCLA, USC or Washington in 2024. Purdue and Oregon will meet on a Friday night–a Blackout–just the third Friday night game in Ross-Ade Stadium’s history.

Name to know: offense

RB Jordan James – Of course, I could say Dillon Gabriel, but that feels obvious. I think folks don’t know that Oregon runs the football very effectively. In fact, I’d argue that it’s the biggest key to opening up the offense for the Ducks. James has largely been the “power back” at Oregon, but his role will be much bigger this season. Teams will find him tough to tackle but still with enough wiggle to pick up big yards.

Name to know: defense

LB Jeff Bassa – He’s the heart and soul of this defense. It was a huge win for Dan Lanning to convince Bassa to return instead of heading to the NFL. Bassa has sideline-to-sideline ability, meaning he’s a force in run support and intercepting passes. Purdue fans will likely look up his number on game day after watching him make several plays.

Biggest question:

Road games – A new conference will bring new wrinkles. How will teams handle some of these new road games? Oregon struggled on the road the last two years, not necessarily with losses, but with games being much closer than they should have been. I’m curious to see if this is an area Oregon improves in this season, combined with the fact that it will be made more difficult with new travel and new venues.

Key newcomer

WR Evan Stewart – There are a lot of ways I could go here. Gabriel, Jabbar Muhammad, Derrick Harmon – there are plenty of options, but I think Stewart is about to have his ‘breakout season’ at Oregon. The change of scenery will be big, along with Gabriel’s experience and the balance of the offense. It’s going to be really hard to double up on anyone with all of the weapons Oregon has, so Stewart will take advantage of that this season.

Early outlook on Purdue vs. Oregon

Oregon enters 2024 as a surefire top-10 team nationally with real goals of reaching and advancing deep into the College Football Playoff. In each of Lanning’s first two seasons, Oregon won double-digit games and played for the Pac-12 championship a season ago. Now, the Ducks enter the Big Ten, hoping to make an immediate splash. Only Ohio State has better odds to win the league. Purdue will hope to rekindle some Ross-Ade magic and pull a massive nighttime upset when Oregon comes to town, as the Ducks will come in as heavy favorites.

2024 expectations

“Natty or Bust.” Much like Ohio State, Oregon heads into this season with some lofty expectations. Of course, you’d love to enter the new Big Ten and win it, but I think Oregon has eyes on a playoff spot. They have the talent and the depth to make a deep push, but as we all know, it’s never easy. This team is built to compete with anyone, however.

2024 Purdue schedule

DateOpponent

Aug. 31Indiana State, Noon ET, BTN

Sept. 7OFF

Sept. 14Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS

Sept. 21at Oregon State, 8:30 p.m. ET, CW

Sept. 28Nebraska

Oct. 5at Wisconsin

Oct. 12at Illinois

Oct. 18Oregon, 8 p.m. ET, FOX (Friday)

Oct. 26OFF

Nov. 2Northwestern

Nov. 9at Ohio State

Nov. 16Penn State

Nov. 22at Michigan State, 8 p.m. ET, FOX (Friday)

Nov. 30at Indiana

Previous previews: Indiana State | Notre Dame | Oregon State | Nebraska | Wisconsin | Illinois