Oregon could use the air miles it will take to get to Newark, New Jersey for a Hawaiian vacation,  but instead it will take a short bus ride to Piscataway for a Week 8 matchup against Rutgers.

Oregon’s new multi-thousand-mile cross-country road trips for conference matchups with Rutgers and Maryland were a topic of conversation when the Ducks joined the Big Ten in 2024. Week 8 brings the first of those matchups as No. 8 Oregon (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) makes the 2,908-mile journey to Piscataway, New Jersey, to face Rutgers (3-3, 0-3 Big Ten).

The road trip is Oregon’s longest in the Big Ten since its 2024 expansion, narrowly beating out the 2,815-mile trip that Maryland made to Autzen Stadium last season. The Scarlet Knights will also have a sellout crowd behind them for their homecoming weekend. 

Rutgers returns home from a long road trip of its own to Washington in Week 7. The Scarlet Knights took a 13-10 lead into halftime and trailed 24-19 late in the third quarter, but three straight incompletions followed by a nine-yard pass ended their first drive of the fourth quarter, and Washington compounded that into a 38-19 win.

Rutgers has not faced a halftime deficit in Big Ten play so far, being tied at 21 in the opener against Iowa, and leading Minnesota 21-14 in Week 5. 

Late in the fourth quarter against Iowa, trailing by three, the pocket around quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis fell apart, and his deflected pass was intercepted, which allowed the Hawkeyes to score again for a 38-28 win. Against Minnesota, a potential walk-off drive went off the rails, ending in a missed 56-yard field goal on fourth-and-22, and the Golden Gophers kneeled out a 31-28 win.

The late losses are a new challenge for head coach Greg Schiano, who has slowly turned the program around during his five-season tenure. The Wyckoff, New Jersey native has deep ties to the state and football program after first getting into coaching in 1988 as an assistant at Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, near his hometown. The next year, Schiano landed his first NCAA position as a graduate assistant at Rutgers, and in 2001, he returned for his first head coaching job.

Schiano left Rutgers to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2012-2013, and then returned to the NCAA ranks as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator from 2016-2018. The then 52-year-old Schiano stepped away from coaching to spend more time with his family, but returned to coach the Scarlet Knights ahead of the 2020 season. After setting the program’s wins record with his 79th in 2022, Schiano led the Scarlet Knights to their first winning record and bowl game in nine years in 2023, and he repeated both feats in 2024.

“Coach Schiano is a guy that I’ve got tremendous respect for. His name speaks for itself — what he’s been able to do over the years,” Lanning said in his Monday press conference. “His teams, when you watch them play, they play with a brand of toughness, and they challenge you in a lot of ways.”

Minnesota transfer quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis is in his second season controlling Rutgers’ offense, and although the chances of Kaliakmanis leading the team to another bowl game are looking slim, the fifth-year senior is quietly putting together an excellent season.

Kaliakmanis ranks third in the Big Ten in passing yards with 1,785 and has thrown 11 touchdowns to just three interceptions. His lagging completion percentage of 66%, which ranks 41st in the nation, hints at the offense’s major weakness: an offensive line that has allowed 18 sacks.

He generously splits the targets among junior Ian Strong, sophomore KJ Duff, and senior DT Sheffield, with all three hauling in over 25 receptions. Strong leads the team in receptions with 36 and yards with 537, while Duff leads in touchdowns with four, and all three appeared on the preseason Biletnikoff Award watchlist for best wide receiver in the nation. 

The Scarlet Knights’ rushing game, meanwhile, goes as sophomore running back Antwan Raymond goes. Raymond sits tied for second in the Big Ten in attempts with 102, fourth in rushing yards with 560 and second in touchdowns with nine.

“Offensively, they’ve got real weapons outside at wide receiver, one of the better, if not one of the best running backs we’ve seen this year in the way they’re playing right now,” Lanning said.

Despite Schiano’s defensive background, that side of the ball has troubled the Scarlet Knights all season. The unit sits dead last in the conference in total yards allowed per game with 385.3, and has forced just three turnovers, by way of two interceptions and one fumble recovery. UNLV transfer safety Jett Elad has been the defense’s saving grace, leading it in tackles with 40.

“We’ve got a great opportunity in front of us to go play a team in Rutgers that does a lot of things that really challenge you,” Lanning said.

Rutgers played in the first-ever game of college football in 1869, seven years after what was then named Eugene City was formally incorporated. The city that just a decade earlier was a small settlement known as Skinner’s Mudhole now plays host to one of the wealthiest and most formidable teams in college football. At 3:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network, the programs will cross paths for the first time.