This will be a litmus test.

No. 2 Oregon acrobatics and tumbling (2-0) proved its legitimacy last week with a win over No. 3 Quinnipiac University. This week, though, it travels to face No. 1 Baylor University (3-0), against whom the gap has been historically large.

Any combination of numbers prove that: the fact that Oregon hasn’t beaten the Bears since 2021, or that Baylor has won the last 10 national championships, or that in three meetings last season, the Ducks turned in some of their best performances and still couldn’t down the champs.

The Bears have three ranked wins so far this season, all dominant, over No. 11 Saint Leo University, No. 10 Azusa Pacific University and No. 8 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, and look every inch the formidable force the Ducks have encountered yearly in their quest for another national title. A pushover either direction would be a surprise.

Feb. 28 in Waco, Texas is the first of two scheduled meetings between the pair this season, with the other coming April 6 in Eugene. It’s arguably the less-impactful of the two, with the other likely swinging the No. 1 seed, but here’s what does matter: breaking tradition. The places where Oregon excels — tumbling and consistency — are ones that Baylor is set up to match. That means the Ducks not only have to perform at a high level across the board, but that they’ll have to be better in the three events where they won a national event title last season in order to compete in Waco.

A win Saturday won’t win the Ducks a national title, but it would prove that it’s possible.

Six-element acro

Whoever blinks first will have a mountain to climb. The Ducks struggled uncharacteristically with the six-element acro heat in both their first two meets of the season, where they scored 7.60 and 7.550 after a low of 8.350 in 2025. Against Quinnipiac last weekend, head coach Taylor Susnara changed the lineup in the heat after a fall against Missouri State, and was surprised when the score came in so low.

“I just thought the scores maybe were supposed to be switched, just given the deductions we were supposed to get,” Susnara said after the meet. “I haven’t gotten that information back — at the end of the day, we just want the highest scores for our team.” 

The official scoresheet still reflects the heat as a 7.550.

Scores that low in a 1-vs-2 matchup will put the Ducks in a hole. Keep an eye on who’s in the heat, and on execution. The Ducks’ six-element heat is synchronized, so any elements not performed at the same time by the two groups will carry a deduction.

Oregon has been open and honest about the fact that it hasn’t performed at its best yet this season. Baylor has stepped up, with three 277.000-plus scores.

“They’re doing what Baylor does,” Susnara said last week. “They’re doing some cool stuff. They’re bringing in some new things, acro and pyramid-wise. They’re powerful, like always, and so for us to show up, we’ve got to make sure we’re at our best.”

That means supporting two of the Ducks’ best heats — five and seven-element acro — with a six-element that has fixed its issues.

Pressure moments

The final two events of this meet are the peak of the sport. Oregon and Baylor host several of the sport’s best tumblers and traditionally the sport’s highest team event start values. The Bears posted six 10.0 start values in tumbling against UMHB in their third meet; watch to see if Oregon, which started with a total value of 59.25 against Quinnipiac, raises its duo, trio and aerial pass to match. The Ducks are expected to keep star sophomores Briya Alvarado and Morgan Willingham and freshman Nya Womack in their solo pass slots, while the Bears should run out 2025 NCATA Athlete of the Year Payton Washington, All-American Emily Bott and sophomore Sarah Kerr.

The first half might be where the perfect-score potential is, but tumbling and team have been what’s decided these meets. Yes, Oregon has to make it there. Yes, it’ll be difficult. Yes, the Ducks haven’t been at their best yet this season.

Saturday will demand it.

Oregon faces Baylor on Feb. 28 at 3 p.m PT., in Waco.