Oregon football players are no strangers to setting early alarms, but a 9:00 a.m. PST kickoff in Evanston, Illinois made the Oregon football facility before dawn a more intense environment throughout Week 3.

At a press conference three days before the game, defensive back Ify Obidegwu explained that his position group had been waking up at 4:00 a.m. and arriving at the facility by 5:00 a.m. to prepare for the time zone difference.

“That’s about the time we’re gonna be waking up anyway when that day comes, so we’re just mentally preparing ourselves throughout the week,” Obidegwu said.

Oregon’s preparation secured a 34-14 win, but the lopsided final score and several errors by Northwestern players masked a relatively slow start for the Ducks.

Although Oregon led 17-0 by halftime, Northwestern forced a punt on its first drive and had two promising offensive drives that ended in poor turnovers;, first when quarterback Preston Stone made a throw into triple coverage that was intercepted by Bryce Boettcher and later when he fumbled-and-recovered the ball for a loss of 18 yards.

While the Ducks quickly returned to the dominant level they have shown early in the season, their start left room for improvement, and according to offensive lineman Emmanuel Pregnon, that was an emphasis throughout the week.

“The emphasis coach has been leaving with us this week is being a firestarter, and what that means to me is starting early and starting fast,” Pregnon said. “That’s how I’m thinking about preparing for such an early game like that, so when I come out on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. I’m punching somebody in the mouth right from the jump.”

The early kickoff posed a unique challenge, but it put Oregon’s preparation for road games under a microscope, and that will be worth watching throughout the remainder of the Ducks’ away schedule.

Oregon’s Week 5 matchup against No. 2 Penn State will be its first Big Ten conference road game against a ranked team, and the biggest obstacle in the way of another undefeated season. 

Assuming the Ducks overcome their longest road trip in the Big Ten to beat Rutgers in Week 8, their next away test will come in Week 11 against Iowa. Longtime Big Ten teams know about Iowa’s ability to play spoiler when it is overmatched, and the Hawkeyes’ brand of strong defense and special teams makes them capable of capitalizing in the vulnerable moments Oregon had against Northwestern.

Oregon ends the regular season in Seattle against a more talented Huskies roster than the one that the Ducks blew out at Autzen Stadium last season. Oregon will need a refined approach to road games to win in Seattle, where it hasn’t taken a victory since 2021, and the Ducks’ away schedule is difficult enough to build that.

The focus on Oregon’s first road trip throughout Week 3 gave some insight into where the Ducks are starting that process.

“More than anything, our crowd has been a huge impact in our first two games — I don’t know how many penalties Oklahoma State had that our crowd induced, but there were several of them,” Lanning said in a press conference on Sept. 8. “For me, it’s about how do we travel when we go on the road? Business trip, and what that looks like.”

Pregnon and safety Dillon Thieneman both gave insight into their plane travel habits to prepare for those business trips.

“I’m an aisle guy. That leg room — I will fight anybody for that leg room,” Pregnon, who is listed at 6-foot-5, 318 pounds, said.

“I make sure to stretch after. I know when you get up there you can get some swelling in your legs and stuff, so work that out, and also stress that it’s a business trip, you’re not just going on a trip to go on a trip, you’re going on a trip to go win a game,” Thieneman said.

Oregon players and staff will rely on and refine every aspect of their preparation as they navigate a challenging road schedule in 2025.