The No. 10-ranked Oregon Ducks have a prime opportunity Saturday when they host No. 9 UCLA.

An opportunity to assert themselves at the very head of the Pac-12 championship race as the Ducks and Bruins are the only teams still unbeaten in conference play.

An opportunity to remain somewhere in the mix for the College Football Playoff while, presumably, playing with the full attention of the CFP selection committee as the only game featuring two top-10 teams in the country this week.

(No. 5 Clemson hosts No. 14 Syracuse, No. 8 TCU hosts No. 17 Kansas State and No. 6 Alabama hosts No. 14 Mississippi State in the other marquee matchups.)

And as much as anything, an opportunity to reinforce this five-game winning streak and stretch of dominant offensive football.

Oregon (5-1, 3-0 Pac-12) has faced one other ranked team in that stretch in then-No. 12 BYU, but the Cougars are now 4-3 and nowhere near the national rankings. Backing up their recent run against the unbeaten Bruins (6-0, 3-0) would really make a statement.

With College GameDay broadcasting live from Eugene on Saturday morning and a 12:30 p.m. PT kickoff to follow, Autzen Stadium should be absolutely rocking for this pivotal matchup and its significant stakes.

With all that said, coach Dan Lanning held his weekly Monday night press conference, and after practice Tuesday, Bennett Williams, Jordon Riley and Casey Rogers met with reporters to share their thoughts on the week.

Here are five takeaways from our interviews with the Ducks so far ...

As practice got underway Tuesday morning, there was a sense around the facility that this week’s preparation already feels different from any other this fall.

Lanning didn't even wait to be asked about Monday night before talking about the impact of College GameDay setting up on campus.

While he admitted that it certainly adds a special factor for the fans, he added that it won't ultimately be a factor for his players.

"About to be a fun one," Lanning said, opening his comments Monday night. "Really exciting. Obviously, this is going to be a great atmosphere for our players but also our fans. I know me, including everybody else in our organization is really excited to see our fans come out in full support. Obviously, having College GameDay here is going to be a great event. Getting the opportunity to go against a top-10 team and a really worth opponent is going to be a fun challenge for us and our players.

"I talked to our guys really early on [Monday] that all of this is here because of the work they've done and that's why this is sitting in front of them, but really all of this outside has nothing to do with what has to be done on the field. I think our guys realize that and are excited about the opportunity."

But this does not feel like just another game.

It's hard to say if the music was actually louder at practice Tuesday, but the players and coaches alike (even Lanning) were rocking to the beat as they warmed up. The energy, at least during the limited portion of practice open to media, was unlike any practice the DSA staff has experienced so far this fall.

Veteran defensive back Bennett Williams concurred with that message and was candid in his assessment of practice while ultimately reiterating Lanning's message.

“We’re not going to ignore the fact that [College] Gameday is here. … To ignore, that’s just being ignorant,” Williams said. “Today's energy was great, yeah, but there's some times we were kind of slipping up in details and stuff. So that's the stuff that’s going to win us the game rather than just the energy.”