Oregon without Dante Moore faces Northwestern

Northwestern's margin, Oregon's discipline

Against Power 4 opponents, Northwestern is +80 in point margin, eighth nationally and second in the Big Ten. Oregon is -4 in the same games, 32nd nationally and eighth in the Big Ten.

Northwestern is +7 in turnover margin, fourth nationally, while Oregon is -3, 67th. The Wildcats hold the ball 33:16 a game, sixth nationally, to Oregon's 26:59, 78th.

Northwestern gains 423 yards a game, 19th nationally, and allows 352, 24th. Oregon gains 345 and allows 380, ranking 49th and 36th.

The Ducks win one column. They are penalized 45 yards a game, 22nd nationally, against 53 for Northwestern, 38th.

Where it's decided

When Oregon has the ball, it brings an offense scoring 22.8 points a game against Power 4 opponents, 44th nationally. The Ducks convert 27.1% of third downs, 77th nationally and 16th in the Big Ten, and score on 32.3% of their drives, 52nd. Northwestern's defense ends 73.6% of drives without a score, third nationally, and allows 16.8 points a game, seventh. Oregon scores on 88.2% of red zone trips, 30th, and the Wildcats hold opponents to 69.2% there, fifth nationally and first in the Big Ten.

The ground looks like Oregon's opening. Northwestern allows 166 rushing yards a game, 54th nationally and 13th in the Big Ten, but only 186 passing yards, 11th. Oregon runs for 122 yards a game, 49th, and passes for 223, 44th.

Jordon Davison leads Oregon in rushing yards with 422 and has 7 touchdowns. Dierre Hill Jr. adds 378 rushing yards and 20 catches for 209 yards. Dakorien Moore leads the Ducks in receiving yards with 417 and in catches with 34, and Evan Stewart has 352 yards and 4 touchdowns.

When Northwestern has the ball, it runs. The Wildcats gain 209 rushing yards a game against Power 4 opponents, fourth nationally, and Oregon allows 160, 48th. Caleb Komolafe leads Northwestern in rushing yards with 551 and 5 touchdowns, and Joseph Himon II has 371 on 38 carries.

Northwestern converts 49.2% of third downs, eighth nationally and first in the Big Ten, against an Oregon defense allowing 33.8%, 12th. The Wildcats score on 54.9% of drives, seventh, and on 95.7% of red zone trips, 10th. Oregon stops 66.7% of drives, 20th, and allows a 78.9% red zone scoring rate, 22nd.

Quarterback Aidan Chiles leads Northwestern in passing yards with 1,617, with 12 touchdowns and 1 interception. Griffin Wilde leads the Wildcats in receiving yards with 615 and in catches with 39, and tight end Alex Honig has 221 yards and 3 touchdowns. Northwestern throws for 214 yards a game, 55th, against an Oregon pass defense allowing 220, 31st. Teitum Tuioti leads Oregon in sacks with 5.5, second in the Big Ten.

Northwestern's best scoring since 2000

Northwestern scores 34.7 points a game in all games, up from 23.4 last season and its best average since 2000. Most of that has come at home, at 39.2 points a game, against 47 total in two road games. Kicker Jackson Kleather is tied for third in the Big Ten with 11 field goals and tied for the lead with 2 from 50 yards or more.

Chip Kelly back in Eugene

Northwestern offensive coordinator Chip Kelly was Oregon's offensive coordinator in 2007-08. Now he brings David Braun's Wildcats to Autzen Stadium in Eugene to face Dan Lanning's Ducks.

Chiles scores with his arm and his legs

Chiles transferred to Northwestern from Michigan State, and he is tied for the Big Ten lead with 21 total touchdowns. He is tied for second in the Big Ten with 9 rushing touchdowns and has run for a score in 8 straight games. He also leads the Big Ten in completion percentage at 71.3%, and he needs 267 passing yards to reach 6,000 for his career.

Oregon's coverage units against Wildcat returns

Against Power 4 opponents, Oregon ranks first nationally in punt coverage, allowing -1.6 yards a return on 5 returns, and second in kick coverage at 11.8 yards on 6 returns. The Ducks also average 9.9 yards a punt return on 7 returns, 12th. Northwestern averages 23.1 yards a kick return on 8 returns, 12th, and allows 18.1 on 16 returns, 16th.

Milestones, transfers and draft losses

Lanning is 16-9 as a head coach against ranked teams.

Wilde needs 1 touchdown catch to reach 30 for his career and 3 catches to reach 200. Northwestern linebacker Braydon Brus leads the team in tackles with 62, tied for the Big Ten lead, and in sacks with 4. Brus is also tied for second in the Big Ten with 10.5 tackles for loss. Tuioti has two or more sacks in two games, tied for third-most in FBS.

Oregon safety Koi Perich transferred from Minnesota and leads the Ducks in tackles with 46, with 2 interceptions. Oregon also added quarterback Dylan Raiola from Nebraska. Northwestern brought in linebacker Kobie McKinzie from Oklahoma and Honig from UConn.

Oregon had 7 players drafted, including 2 safeties and 2 offensive guards, with 2 in the first two rounds. Tight end Kenyon Sadiq went 16th overall to New York and safety Dillon Thieneman went 25th to Chicago. Sadiq and receiver Malik Benson took 1,279 receiving yards to the NFL, and Oregon returns 47% of its 2025 receiving yards.

Northwestern had 2 players drafted, an offensive tackle and an offensive guard: Caleb Tiernan in the third round to Minnesota and Evan Beerntsen in the seventh to Baltimore.

Oregon's surgeries pile up

Update, Sat, Oct 31, 12:30 PM CT: Since Friday's report, Northwestern downgraded Robby Preckel (probable to a game-time decision). On the latest report, Oregon lists Dante Moore, Jeremiah McClellan, Messiah Hampton and 5 others as out or doubtful, and Iverson Hooks as a game-time decision. Northwestern lists Robert Fitzgerald, Josh Fussell, Brendan Flakes and 9 others as out or doubtful, and Robby Preckel as a game-time decision.

Moore is listed Out on the latest conference report. Lanning said Oct. 28 that defensive lineman Matthew Johnson is having surgery and will be down, and that offensive lineman Dave Iuli, who had been battling through injury, is also having surgery, according to Sports Illustrated. Lanning gave no timetable for either.

Safety Aaron Flowers had shoulder surgery and will be out for the foreseeable future, Lanning said Oct. 14, according to Yahoo Sports. Receiver Jeremiah McClellan, linebacker Brayden Platt and offensive lineman Trent Ferguson are also listed Out. Receiver Iverson Hooks, a UAB transfer, is Questionable and new on this week's report.

Northwestern Athletics said Oct. 29 that offensive lineman Ezomo Oratokhai suffered a season-ending injury in the second game, and Braun spoke of the line's inexperience "after Mo going down." Braun said Honig has been called on more with tight end Luke Dehnicke "being down here for a couple weeks," Northwestern Athletics announced Oct. 23, with no injury or return date given.

The Wildcats list defensive backs Robert Fitzgerald and Josh Fussell, linebackers Max Mohring, Jason Reynolds II and Qayvier Johnson, and defensive linemen Callen Campbell and Braxton Strong as Out, with Strong new this week. Defensive lineman Brendan Flakes is Doubtful, and running back Robby Preckel is Questionable and new on the report. Running back Daniel Anderson, offensive lineman Jacob Miller and tight end Chris Petrucci are Out.

Oregon won the most recent meeting easily

The series is tied 1-1 in the games we hold since 1974. Oregon won the last meeting 34-14 in 2025.

That 2025 Oregon team went 13-2, scoring 36.9 points a game and allowing 17.9. Northwestern finished that season 7-6.

Three things to watch

Oregon's passing game without Moore: the Ducks throw for 223 yards a game against Power 4 opponents, and his 926 yards and 9 touchdowns now have to come from someone else.

Chiles near the goal line: he has a rushing touchdown in 8 straight games.

Northwestern quarterback Aidan Chiles needs 267 passing yards to reach 6,000 for his career.