The Oregon Ducks assign a color theme to each of their football games every season. Most of the away games are assigned white, because in football the visiting team almost always wears white.
This season, the only exception is the Week 3 game against the Ducks’ in-state rivals, the Oregon State Beavers. Despite the two teams no longer being in the same conference for the first time in over a century, one thing that has remained true in this matchup is that regardless of which team is hosting, the Beavers always wear orange and the Ducks always wear green.
The home games are spaced out mostly with green and yellow along with one or two blackouts and occasionally, a pinkout. The pinkout games have been designed to raise awareness of breast cancer. They won’t make an appearance for football this season, but women’s basketball and volleyball will likely continue the tradition.
The first game of the season against the Idaho Vandals will be a stripeout. This concept was introduced in last season’s Week 4 matchup against the Colorado Buffaloes. The student sections and all odd-numbered sections wore yellow, while the even-numbered sections wore green.
This year, the stripeout will take place a month before the fall term begins, which means the student section won’t be very crowded. That said, the rest of Autzen is a sellout crowd and will be filled with green and yellow stripes.
It has become a tradition for the Ducks to assign blackout games to big matchups. Last season, the sole blackout came in the final game against the then-reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and the USC Trojans.
This season, fans will wear black for two games. The first will come in Week 2 against the Boise State Broncos. This is a 7:00 p.m. game, which means it will be under the lights and the night sky. The Ducks usually assign blackouts to night games, but sometimes aren’t able to when the game time is announced only a week in advance.
The second blackout will be in Week 7. The time of that game has not been announced, but it is easily the biggest game of the season. The No. 3 ranked Ducks will be hosting the No. 2 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes for the first time as conference opponents in the Big Ten. This game will play a major role in the standings for the College Football Playoffs and, regardless of the result, the two could play a second time in the Big Ten Championship Game.
The remaining home games are evenly split between green and yellow. Joining the Ducks in their move to the Big Ten are their all-time foe, the Washington Huskies. They will come to Autzen for the regular season finale to a sea of green as the Ducks look for their first win over the Huskies since 2021. Ducks fans will also wear green in their early November matchup against the Maryland Terrapins.
In Week 6, the UO student body will finish its first week of fall term with a Friday night trip to Autzen where the crowd will highlight the stadium with yellow as the Michigan State Spartans come to town. Then, on Homecoming Weekend, the fans will be in yellow again as the Ducks host the Illinois Fighting Illini.
As the new colors of Big Ten opponents fill Autzen Stadium, one thing will remain the same: Oregon fans will be decked out in their finest gear, clinging to the edge of their seats in a pivotal season.
