Michigan State wil face Oregon in Eugene on Friday at 9 p.m. Eastern Time on FOX.
The Spartans are coming off a 38-7 loss against Ohio State, while the Ducks most recently took care of UCLA, 34-13.
Oregon comes into this contest with an unblemished 4-0 record, including a close win at home against Boise State and potential Heisman candidate, Ashton Jeanty. The Spartans will look to push the Ducks to the brink and score an upset win on Friday Night in Autzen Stadium.
Let's get to know the Ducks better.
Head coach
Oregon is led by third-year head coach, Dan Lanning.
Lanning has been one of the better coaches in college football since he took over in Eugene in 2022, as he boasts a 26-5 overall record. Lanning has also gone 16-3 in conference play, including 1-0 now since the Ducks have joined the Big Ten.
Lanning, who is known for his defensive coaching prowess, has had stops at Alabama with Nick Saban as a graduate assistant and at Georgia with Kirby Smart as the defensive coordinator/outside linebackers coach, among other roles. He was with the Bulldogs for four season before takign the job at Oregon. It is safe to say that Lanning has cut his teeth with the best on the defensive side of the football.
This will be Lanning's first matchup coaching against Michigan State, however he has gone against current Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith twice in 2022 and 2023 when Smith was at Oregon State. Lanning is 1-1 against Smith, with Smith's Beavers winning in 2022, and Lanning and the Ducks coming out victorious in the 2023 matchup, which was Smith's final game in Corvallis.
Offensive players to watch
If the Spartans are going to pull of the upset in Eugene, they will have to find a way to slow down senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
Gabriel has thrown for 1,192 and nine touchdowns so far this season, with only one interception. He also leads the nation in completion percentage (81.5%). Gabriel, who started his career at Central Florida and later transferred to Oklahoma, will play a total of six seasons of college football.
The experience from Gabriel is a large factor to the Ducks' success, as he has seen many coverages, fronts and pressures in his time in college football. Gabriel has been in an up-tempo offense every step of the way in his college career, as he started his career in Josh Heupel's system at UCF, then he played under Gus Malzahn with the Knights in 2021 before suffering a season ending injury after three games that year. He transferred to Oklahoma ahead of the 2022 season and played under Brent Venables and then-offensive coordinator current Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby, who is also known to operate his offense at an extreme tempo pace.
Gabriel’s success in that style of offense led him to Oregon with current offensive coordinator Will Stein, who also operates an up-tempo offense. It’s safe to say that the Spartans should be very well prepared for Oregon to run a lot of plays at a fast rate.
Other offensive players to watch for the Ducks include running back Jordan James, wide receivers Tez Johnson, Traeshon Holden and Texas A&M transfer Evan Stewart, and tight end Terrance Ferguson.
Defensive players to watch
On the defensive side of the ball, the Ducks feature talent across the board, but especially at the cornerback and defensive line positions.
Washington transfer Jabbar Muhammad leads the secondary, and a name Spartan fans know well, Michigan State transfer Derrick Harmon, solidifies an already talented defensive line unit.
Muhammad, who was named second team All-Pac-12 last season, was as shutdown as you can get in the secondary, with his most impactful games coming against Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game and Texas in the College Football Playoff last year. He know suits up for the Ducks.
Harmon has been a force in the interior for the Ducks this season, as the former Spartan has been a wrecking ball when rushing the passer.
He has recorded 20 quarterback pressures, 18 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks through just four games this season.
Linebacker Bryce Boettcher leads the Ducks in tackles with 28 and has recorded an interception. He also plays baseball for Oregon.
The Spartans will have their hands full again this week when facing off against an experienced and talented Oregon roster.
The key to this contest will be Michigan State's ability to dictate the pace of the game by getting off the field on third downs on defense (something MSU struggles with against Ohio State) and converting third downs when the Spartan offense has the ball.
Of course, Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles will have to tone down his turnover issue as well if the Spartans want a puncher’s chance on Friday night.
