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When the season started and the Week 6 matchup in Eugene was circled between UCLA and Oregon, who really thought the team with the 1 loss would be the one who calls Autzen Stadium home?
The answer is not many, but here we are and here we go, as the 4-0 Bruins who’ve rocketed into the AP rankings and now sit at No. 21 invade Autzen to take on the 3-1 Ducks who continue to be desperate to avoid that 2nd loss of 2026. Oregon has seemingly recovered from its early stumbles, barely beating Boise State at home in the opener before getting beat down at Oklahoma State in Week 2.
After putting 84 points on Portland State, the Ducks showed some grit and resilience in their Big Ten opener by winning at USC in Week 4 despite losing starting quarterback Dante Moore to a concussion. Moore is still out despite returning to practice this week — more on that below — but 13th-ranked Oregon looks ready to make a run now and should be refreshed coming off a bye week and being back home.
But UCLA is coming off a bye, too, and looks to have a new lease on life with Bob Chesney at the controls. The Bruins trek to the Pacific Northwest with a 2-0 Big Ten mark and with a chance to officially matter in college football for the first time in a long time. Winning at Oregon can do that, and UCLA will get a national TV stage to try to make it happen, with the old Pac-12 rivals kicking it off on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
There are many things to watch for in this matchup, but we’ll narrow it down to the 3 things not to be missed as the Bruins look to pull the shocker as a double-digit underdog:
1. With Dante Moore out, will Dylan Raiola shine in first Oregon start?
We start with this because, more than anything, all eyes will be on the Nebraska transfer on Saturday as he tries to make his move the biggest “portal get” of the offseason by any team. That narrative already took flight 2 weeks ago in Los Angeles, where Raiola replaced the injured Dante Moore and led Oregon to a rousing road victory over USC with basically its season hanging in the balance.
All Raiola did that night at the Coliseum was post a ridiculous 98.8 QBR, completing 19 of 25 passes for 289 yards with 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. As much as the Week 4 primetime win was about the team galvanizing after that late hit took out Moore, it was about Raiola coming in, settling the team down and leading it to a season-saving 41-27 victory.
After going 13-9 as a starter in his first 2 seasons of college football in Lincoln, Raiola transferred to Oregon for a chance to learn from Moore and also to potentially thrive in the limelight. In a very short time in Eugene, he’s managed to accomplish both, but there is so much more waiting for the 21-year-old who was born in Hawaii before splitting his high school career between Texas, Arizona and Georgia.
Counting his college years at Nebraska and now out at Oregon, he is a certifiable football world traveler, but Raiola might have found his home in Eugene. His former red-clad college team will visit the Ducks in Week 7, and if Moore isn’t back yet wouldn’t that be something to see Raiola face off with Nebraska and his former coach, Matt Rhule.
But right now, it’s about this Saturday and Raiola trying to take advantage of a UCLA pass defense that ranks 14th in the Big Ten. Raiola was sensational in relief a few weeks ago, but now Oregon has the advantage of having a backup quarterback in Raiola with so much starting experience and in the Big Ten, no less. Raiola will be back in that familiar starting role he got used to at Nebraska the past couple years.
Can he keep Oregon afloat in the national championship picture while Moore recovers and with his old team looming next week? Watching Raiola try to balance it all on Saturday will be must-see TV against the upstart Bruins.
2. Can UCLA run it against Oregon while stuffing Ducks’ run game?
So far at least, the Bruins’ recipe for success on offense hasn’t been through Nico Iamaleava’s right arm. It’s been behind a relentless ground attack that currently ranks first in the Big Ten with 281.5 yards per game. For some perspective, the No. 2 rushing team in the Big Ten is currently Indiana at 252.6 per contest, almost a full 30 yards per game behind UCLA.
Is that the Chesney Way already permeating Westwood? Or is it just that these Bruins are that talented in the backfield, led by the trio of Wayne Knight (445 yards, 9 touchdowns), Anthony Woods (269 yards, 4 TDs) and Jaivian Thomas (155 yards, 3 TDs)? Yes, they’ve already scored a combined 16 rushing touchdowns and remember UCLA has only played 4 games this season, not 5.
The Bruins have already rushed for 1,126 yards in 2026, and they’re averaging an even 7 yards per carry. This means that opponents haven’t been able to stop UCLA from pounding the rock even though they know that’s what the Bruins do best. But will UCLA be able to maintain this pace, and will it be able to have success on Saturday against an Oregon rush defense that is middle of the road in the Big Ten, ranking 9th?
If the Bruins can run it well once again, will they also be able to shut down the Ducks’ rushing attack? UCLA has also been elite at stopping the run so far, albeit it’s a small sample size being just 4 games in. But the Bruins rank second in the Big Ten in rush defense, giving up only 91.3 yards per contest. Oregon’s rushing attack would seem to be set to test UCLA, especially playing in Eugene, as it enters 6th in the league while averaging 159 yards on the ground per game.
The Ducks’ formidable backfield duo of Jordon Davison (260 yards, 5 touchdowns) and Dierre Hill Jr. (184 yards, 3 TDs) will have a chance to make Saturday all about them instead of all about the Bruins’ backs. UCLA has used the old football mantra about running the ball effectively and stopping the run well equaling wins, but California, San Diego State, Purdue and Maryland — the Bruins’ 4 victims in 2026 — aren’t Oregon at Autzen Stadium.
UCLA’s winning formula so far this fall will get the ultimate test in the Pacific Northwest.
3. Is UCLA ready for Autzen Stadium and is Oregon ready to be special?
This is the battle within the battle on Saturday.
UCLA is stepping up about 10 notches in competition from its first 4 foes, trying to take down Oregon in Eugene on national TV as a double-digit underdog. The Big Ten and the rest of college football are waiting to find out how “for real” these Bruins really are under Bob Chesney, as they’ve risen so far so fast under their new head coach.
There’s nothing like trying to prove you’re for real in the middle of October while trying to win at Autzen Stadium. It’ll be the ultimate proving ground for UCLA, but the Bruins won’t be the only team trying to prove something on Saturday. Oregon will have its own agenda on its home field, as it tries to firmly put that Week 2 loss at Oklahoma State in the rear-view mirror while taking down a second ranked team from SoCal in 2 weeks.
So much was expected of the Ducks going into this season and those expectations haven’t gone away just because Dante Moore is out. For Oregon to still be considered a College Football Playoff contender, it simply has to win this game, at home, as a double-digit favorite.
The Ducks still have Nebraska and Northwestern this month, and waiting in November is a trip to Ohio State, with Michigan and Washington after that.
If this Oregon team is anything close to being special, it will deal those upstarts from Pasadena a little reality check.
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