On Dec. 7, 2024, the Oregon Ducks faced off against the Penn State Nittany Lions in what would become Oregon’s first Big Ten title in their debut season. This week the Ducks and Penn State face off for the first time since the championship game last season.

A lot has changed since these two teams faced off with over 20 Ducks departing the program for the NFL or the transfer portal. The biggest losses for Oregon came on offense with the departure of starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel, wide receiver Tez Johnson and running back Jordan James.

Gabriel was a major part of the Oregon offense in the Big Ten championship passing for 283 yards and four touchdowns. The Ducks’ new starter, though, had plenty of time to learn from the third-round NFL Draft pick.

“The biggest thing he taught me was preparation,” Moore said at a post game press conference after this year’s Northwestern game. “The way he just prepped Monday through Friday and on Saturday. How he just went out there and got the job done. Another thing I learned from him is you gotta enjoy this process.”

James and Johnson were both instrumental in the championship win and led the Ducks in rushing and receiving yards respectively in the win. Another key player in that game was backup tight end Kenyon Sadiq. 

Sadiq, now a starter, has become an integral part of the Oregon offense. He has had a great start to the season with 155 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns through 4 games. Sadiq has even been getting looks out of the back field, giving Oregon yet another player to hand the ball to.

Penn State returns with most of their key starters that went 13-3 last season with 9 starters on both sides of the ball leaving for the NFL. Of those drafted, tight end Tyler Warren and defensive end Abdul Carter were major contributors for the Nittany Lions. 

Warren was ranked No. 7 in receiving yards and No. 36 in receiving touchdowns in the nation. Carter was one of the nation’s best edge rushers ranking No. 15 in sacks and No. 5 in tackles for loss. The departure of these stars is a major loss for Penn State who head into this game 3-0. 

In the championship game the Nittany Lions dominated the run and kept them in the game. Running back Kaytron Allen ran for 124 yards and a touchdown and was supported by Nicholas Singleton who ran for 105 yards. Both running backs are back and splitting snaps.

In their last game against Villanova, Allen and Singleton ran for a combined 170 yards and three touchdowns in a blowout 52-6 win. In the blowout game Singleton moved to No. 3 all-time in rushing touchdowns for Penn State.

“These guys have shared carries their entire career and they have a chance at the end of this year to be the No. 1 and No. 2 all-time leading rushers in Penn State history,” Penn State head coach James Franklin said at Big Ten media day.  “To me, that is a crazy stat of two backs who have shared carries.” 

Going into this week’s matchup it looks like the run game will be present for both teams with Penn State’s explosive backfield and Oregon’s  deep running back room. The Ducks backfield comes back deeper than ever with four different backs getting into the endzone early in the season. 

No. 6 Oregon will go across the country this week to take on No. 2 Penn State on Sep. 27 at 4:30 p.m. PST.