One of the great things about college football — or at least, one of the great things that used to be about college football — is that conferences were set, and each year you knew for the most part which teams you’d be playing. This gave ample opportunity to build rivalries and create a history that dated back decades, with contention growing long roots.
One of the downsides of this, though, is that there often was little room for non-conference experimentation. While most teams play nine conference games per year, it only leaves three non-conference opportunities to play someone who you aren’t as familiar with. Most schools only use one or two of these non-conference games to really test themselves, otherwise scheduling cupcakes against Group of Five or FCS level schools.
The Oregon Ducks are at least respectable when it comes to scheduling non-conference games. Over the years, we’ve seen them play Auburn, and LSU, and Michigan State, and Ohio State. Last year, they had the unpleasant joy of being Georgia’s first stop on the championship tour.
Not much will change for the Ducks’ non-conference scheduling going forward, either. They still have some solid home-and-home matchups on the calendar over the next decade, including games against Texas Tech in 2023/2024, Oklahoma State in 2025/2026, Michigan State in 2029/2030, and Ohio State in 2032/2033.
To check out Oregon’s complete non-conference schedule over the next decade, click here.
With all of that being said, though, there are many more games and matchups that we want to see the Ducks take on, simply for entertainment value. Here are the 12 teams that we most desperately want to see Oregon schedule over the next decade.