5 Things to Watch: Nebraska

EUGENE, Ore. — Adversity continues to challenge the Oregon football team, which will try to tackle it again Saturday night.

The Ducks will be back at home under the lights in Autzen Stadium on Saturday when they host Nebraska. The game will be broadcast by FOX, with kickoff scheduled for 8 p.m.

Oregon is coming off its second loss of the season, a top-25 matchup against UCLA that quarterback Dante Moore missed due to injury. That was just the second conference loss for the Ducks since they joined the Big Ten for the 2024 season.

Nebraska is looking to rebound from its first loss of the season, to defending national champion Indiana. The Cornhuskers opened the year with nonconference wins over Ohio, Bowling Green and North Dakota, then beat Michigan State on the road and Maryland at home to open Big Ten play.

The Ducks trail the all-time series with Nebraska, 6-2. The two last met in 2017, when Oregon won the only previous meeting played at Autzen Stadium.

Saturday's FOX broadcast will feature Tim Brando on play-by-play, analysis by Devin Gardner and sideline reporting by Josh Sims.

Some storylines to watch when the game kicks off …

1. Throughout the summer, Oregon had to try to block out chatter about the program's potential for this season. It's no different now, with hard questions being asked about the Ducks given their two defeats.

"We acknowledge: Now you're not really in the driver's seat," head coach Dan Lanning said this week. "Now, you are in the driver's seat for how you respond, right? And I haven't seen any indications that this team's not trying to respond the right way. …

"I don't see a lot of hanging heads. I think that's challenging, too, especially when you're young, to not lose a little bit of gusto, and not lose a little bit of belief. But I feel like that energy's been there."

The fact of the matter is, more than half the season remains for the Ducks. There's still much that can be accomplished, if they shore up what's hurt them and continue to build on their strengths.

"Our guys have really had the right mindset of, how we can improve and what we can do to be better," Lanning said. "And we need to be better, because we're about to play a really good Nebraska team."

2. There's no doubt that, to have success this week, the Ducks need to be better offensively than they were a week ago. Seven turnovers and 1-of-13 third-down efficiency were crippling against the Bruins.

Earlier this week, Moore was declared out for this game. Dylan Raiola could be in line for another start — against the school he left before transferring to Oregon — or the Ducks could turn to Brock Thomas, who finished the UCLA game, or even Akili Smith Jr.

And changes for this week could go beyond quarterback. Lanning said he spent more time than usual coaching on the offensive side of the ball in practice this week, illustrating the emphasis the staff put on finding answers there.

"There's going to be some differences in the way that we operate and what we do, and there already is, in the way we've operated this week," Lanning said early in the week.

3. Among the answers the staff was looking to identify was, how can the Ducks find more opportunities for their playmakers on offense?

Tight end Jamari Johnson had a single catch against UCLA. He needs more touches, Lanning acknowledged this week, as do the likes of receiver Dakorien Moore and running back Dierre Hill Jr.

"We've got some explosive players that need to be able to touch the ball," Lanning said.

Along with Moore being declared out, Oregon's midweek availability reports this week also listed receiver Evan Stewart as doubtful. Still, there are other dangerous weapons on offense, and the Ducks will look to create opportunities for them Saturday night.

4. Oregon's defense played a generally strong game against UCLA, and the Cornhuskers present another challenge.

The Ducks held UCLA's vaunted rushing attack to about half its season average last week, and run defense will be in the spotlight again Saturday night. This time, the focus will be Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea, who has rushed for nearly 300 yards already this season.

"Their quarterback makes it work," Lanning said. "I mean, he does an unbelievable job of creating plays with his feet."

The Ducks generally held up well last week without starting safety Aaron Flowers, and they'll have to do so again this week after Lanning disclosed that Flowers required surgery to repair an injury that will sideline him long-term. A point of emphasis will be starting strong defensively — the Ducks have been burned by big plays on opponents' opening drives this season, a trend they'd like to stop Saturday.

5. If and when Oregon punts the ball Saturday, two of the best in the country at their positions will take the field.

For the Ducks, punter Bailey Ettridge is averaging 48.2 yards per attempt, with six punts of 50 yards or longer. Oregon is ninth in the FBS in net punting entering this week.

Nebraska, meanwhile, features Jacory Barney Jr., a returning third-team all-confererence player whom Lanning called "probably one of the best returners we've seen this year, if not the best returner we've seen this year."