Oregon Ducks Navigate Big Ten Challenges: Schedule Concerns and Travel Demands
Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning has raised concerns with the Big Ten regarding the uneven preparation time afforded to their opponents. Additionally, the Ducks face a grueling travel schedule, logging more miles than many of their conference rivals.
Lanning's Concerns About Schedule Imbalance
Lanning noted that in seven games this season, Oregon's opponents have equal or more preparation time. He specifically cited instances like Minnesota having a bye week before their matchup and Northwestern playing on a Friday night before facing the Ducks on Saturday. He has communicated these concerns to the Big Ten.
“There’s seven games where our opponent has more time to prep,” Lanning said. “Or equal to us. But they always have more additional time… We go to Iowa and Minnesota has a bye week before us and then we play Minnesota on a Friday.”
While Oregon has performed well despite these disadvantages, Lanning wants the Big Ten to address this issue, especially concerning future schedules. The 2026 schedule and beyond will be key for Duck fans to monitor, to see if their communication with the league made a difference.
The Travel Burden: Miles and Body Clocks
The Oregon Ducks will travel nearly 17,000 miles this season, the most of any contender in college football. This includes trips to Northwestern, Penn State, Rutgers, and Iowa. Players like Dillon Thieneman and Emmanuel Pregnon are adjusting to the challenges of long flights and early kickoff times.
Pregnon, at 6-foot-5 and 318 pounds, highlighted the difficulties with leg room: “That leg room — I will fight anybody for that leg room,” the redshirt senior said. “I just try to get an aisle seat and try to reason with the people on the plane. It’s kind of difficult having to sit in a seat in between, or sit in a window.”
Compare this to other programs in the Big Ten and SEC:
| Team | Round-Trip Mileage |
|---|---|
| Oregon | 16,787 |
| Ohio State | 6,100 |
| Penn State | 7,562 |
| Washington | 14,100 |
| LSU | 4,200 |
| Alabama | 3,000 |
| Georgia | 1,850 |
Adapting and Overcoming
Despite the travel challenges, the Ducks aim to maintain their performance level. Lanning uses the travel time for film review and game day preparation. Players like Thieneman focus on staying active and treating each trip as a "business trip."
Lanning said: “I have a book. Read a little bit of a book. Do a little bit of film review, look at some scripts for walk-throughs. Some game day prep. [Make] decisions that are usually getting made on Thursday nights anyway, just not necessarily on a plane.”
The goal is to minimize any negative impact from the travel and ensure the Ducks are ready to compete at their best, regardless of the distance traveled.
