5 Things To Watch: James Madison

EUGENE, Ore. — An historic moment has arrived for Oregon football and Autzen Stadium.

The home of the Ducks will for the first time host a College Football Playoff game. The UO football team earned that right from its No. 5 ranking by the CFP selection committee, bringing No. 24-ranked and 12th-seeded James Madison to Eugene on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

Oregon went 11-1 in the regular season, including 8-1 in Big Ten play, joining Georgia and Ohio State as the only three teams in the country to win at least 11 games each of the past three seasons. The Ducks are trying to join the Bulldogs and Buckeyes in more rare territory — by winning today, Oregon would join those two as the only programs to reach the CFP quarterfinals in both 2024 and 2025.

James Madison also went 11-1 in the regular season, its only loss at Louisville on Sept. 5. The Dukes went 8-0 in the Sun Belt before beating Troy in the conference title game, and they were the fifth-highest-rated conference champion in the final CFP rankings, earning a berth into the field of 12 for the playoff.

Oregon and James Madison will meet in football for the first time Saturday. The Ducks are 1-2 all-time in CFP games, with a win in the 2014 semifinals over Florida State.

Saturday's game will be televised by TNT/TruTV/HBO Max, with Bob Wischusen providing play by play, Louis Riddick contributing analysis and the duo of Kris Budden and Stormy Buonantony reporting from the sidelines.

Some storylines to watch when the game kicks off …

1. The Ducks will return to action for the first time since wrapping up the regular season with a 26-14 win at Washington on Nov. 29.

They've spent the time since recovering, rehabbing and then ramping up for what will be an unforgettable opportunity Saturday. But as he did before the UW game, UO coach Dan Lanning has stressed execution over emotion to his team.

"Guys are excited about the opportunity, but I think it would be wrong to say that their preparation is different this week than any other week," Lanning said. "Yes, the game is different. We all feel that. We recognize that it's different. But it's not like guys are like, 'OK, let's work hard now'. They've been working hard. You work hard to get to this moment, and then it's about maintaining that level, that standard, as you approach games like this."

2. Saturday's game will be the last in Autzen Stadium for UO coordinators Will Stein and Tosh Lupoi. Each has accepted a head coaching position, Stein at Kentucky and Lupoi at Cal.

But each also intends to coach the Ducks for however long this postseason run lasts.

"I wouldn't be in the position I am without these players and without these coaches and without Dan," Stein said. "I would feel like a complete fraud if I left these guys throughout this playoff run and this opportunity in front of us to coach in Autzen another time. Honestly, it'd be crazy. Tosh is the same way."

Lupoi said his determination to stick with Oregon through this postseason cost him a different job opportunity than the one he took with his alma mater.

"I made it very clear over my dead body would I ever leave the individuals here that, one, have put myself and my family in this position," Lupoi said. "And, two, I want to finish what we started here."

James Madison is in a similar situation — head coach Bob Chesney will leave for UCLA after this postseason.

3. The time off since the regular season has allowed more time to recover from injury for those Ducks who've been banged up this season.

The Ducks have been particularly thin at receiver, but an official CFP availability report for Saturday's game that was released Wednesday listed wideouts Gary Bryant Jr., Dakorien Moore and Evan Stewart all as questionable to play against the Dukes. Stewart has yet to play this season, while both Bryant and Moore got banged up in early November.

Without those weapons, Oregon has relied on its depth at running back and tight end to utilize personnel groups that don't require as many wideouts. Could that change Saturday?

"We're willing to do whatever it takes, and if we've got to play with 10 offensive linemen on the field and one quarterback, we'll figure it out," Stein said. "We'll figure it out either way. I'd love to have everybody back. Being team at full-strength going into this game with James Madison would be very good for us.

4. Only two offenses in the country this year have had multiple games of 300 yards rushing and also multiple games of 300 yards passing this season. They'll meet Saturday in Autzen Stadium.

The Dukes' offense is led by the Sun Belt's leading rusher, Wayne Knight, and quarterbacks Alonza Barnett III, who has thrown 21 touchdown passes and rushed for 14 touchdowns.

"Wayne Knight is an NFL player at running back," Lupoi said. "He can play in any conference on any team, I promise you that. And the quarterback is the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year for a reason. He has thrown for four touchdowns in a game, he has rushed for four touchdowns in a game, and it's complemented by a really good scheme."

5. As usual this time of year, the weather forecast for Saturday has fluctuated over the last couple weeks.

So if it were to rain, the Ducks will be ready.

"The good news is that we've had a lot of experience in unique weather games this season," Lanning said. "I think we're prepared for it. We'll be prepared for those moments and will be able to adapt accordingly."

The better news is, as of Friday there was no rain in the forecast for gameday. And the best news? It never rains in Autzen Stadium.