Breaking down Oregon's 2024 football schedule as Big Ten sets dates

Oregon's 2024 football schedule came into clear focus Thursday as the Big Ten set dates for its conference matchups.

The Ducks' debut in their new conference will start Sept. 28 against longtime fellow Pac-12 foe UCLA on the road, followed by home games against Michigan State and Ohio State, a road trip to Purdue, a home game with Illinois, a road contest at Michigan, a home date with Maryland, a trip to Wisconsin, and after a bye week, a home clash with Washington to close out the regular season and the nine-game Big Ten slate.

All FBS teams are getting two bye weeks in 2024 as the calendar lays out, and the Ducks' first bye comes at an ideal spot after the four-game non-conference schedule.

The Ducks start in Week 0, a week earlier than most teams, with a road game at Hawai'i on Aug. 24, meaning they will play 13 games in 2024 instead of the standard 12. The rest of the non-conference slate includes home games against FCS foe Idaho, the return game in the home-and-home series with Texas Tech and Boise State.

On the whole, Oregon got a fairly favorable setup for its first Big Ten season, drawing three of the conference's worst teams (per 2023 results) in Michigan State, Purdue and Illinois, while getting two its three marquee matchups (Ohio State and Washington) at home with the trip to Michigan obviously the most challenging road game on the slate.

Only six of the Ducks' 12 FBS opponents next year currently have a winning record this season.

Oregon is making the move to the Big Ten along with Washington, USC and UCLA. The conference is using what it calls a "Flex Protect Plus" model, which features a combination of protected annual opponents along with a rotation of the other conference foes. Each school will play each other Big Ten school at least twice -- once home and once away -- in a five-year cycle.

Oregon's series with Washington is one of the protected annual matchups.