Oregon and Oregon State face new beginnings as college football ...

Published August 30, 2024 at 6:00 AM PDT

College football season kicks off this weekend, and things will look very different for local teams.

The University of Oregon and Oregon State are playing in two different conferences this year, and the Beavers have a new head coach.

University of Oregon said goodbye to the Pac-12 to head to the Big Ten. Their departure was just part of the downfall of the Pac-12 as it had existed. Only Oregon State and Washington State remain in the nearly moribund conference. With the future uncertain, this year the Beavers will largely play teams in the Mountain West Conference as part of a scheduling agreement.

OSU’s Coaching Change

Trent Bray took over at Oregon State after the departure of Jonathan Smith at the end of last season. Bray was the Beavers’ defensive coordinator and safeties coach from 2022-2023.

Like his predecessor Smith, Bray is an alumnus of Oregon State and played for the Beavers. As a linebacker, he started in 34 of 49 career games between 2002 and 2005.

And how is Bray feeling about opening weekend as head coach?

“I’m just excited," he said in his first pre-game press conference this week. "Anytime the season starts- no matter what position I’m in, I’m just excited to get out there and watch the guys fly around.”

After Smith’s departure and the mass exodus of teams from the Pac-12, the Beavers lost several notable players to the transfer portal. Ben Gulbranson, a returner, was predicted to start at quarterback this year, but Gevani McCoy has been tapped to take the snaps for the opening game. McCoy is a redshirt junior transfer from Idaho.

Ducks’ High Expectations

Meanwhile, Dan Lanning is entering his third year as head coach for the Ducks, and leads the team into a new era as they compete in the Big Ten.

Oregon is ranked No. 3 to start the season, behind No. 1 Georgia and fellow Big Ten conference team, No. 2 Ohio State.

Lanning says he’s ready to get things going.

“You know, I think, as a coach, you always enjoy all the time you have for prep to get ready for games and to get your team ready to go out there and play,” Lanning said this week. “But I think our guys are certainly excited and ready to go hit somebody else and go play somebody else.”

The Ducks are coming off a season that saw success, led by quarterback Bo Nix, who threw for a national-best 45 touchdowns last season. Nix, this year’s No. 12 overall NFL draft pick, has been named the starting QB for the Denver Broncos.

Oregon will start quarterback Dillon Gabriel, a transfer from Oklahoma. Like Oregon’s only Heisman Trophy winner, Marcus Mariota, Gabriel hails from Hawaii and will wear the No. 8 jersey- the same number sported by Mariota in his time with the Ducks.

Rivalry Matchup

The Ducks and Beavers have a long history of competition against each other. They first faced off in 1894, a rivalry that’s one of the oldest in the nation. They’ve met 127 times, with Oregon leading the series 68-49-10.

Even though the teams will be competing in two different conferences this year, the annual rivalry game continues. The Beavers will host the Ducks on Sept. 14 in Corvallis.

Opening Weekend

Both teams open their seasons at home Saturday, which means extra traffic along I-5, in Corvallis, and in Eugene.

Oregon State welcomes Idaho State at 3:30 p.m. The Beavers vs. Bengals game will be streamed on Fubo.

Oregon hosts Idaho at 4:30 p.m. The Ducks vs. Vandals will be televised on Fox, however, a dispute between Comcast and the Big Ten Network means subscribers to Comcast might not be able to see the team's opener. The game will also be streamed on Fubo.

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