As Oregon prepares to launch its inaugural season in the Big Ten, Keyon Ware-Hudson is set for a memorable weekend with both personal and team milestones on the horizon. With his brother playing in the same city on the same day, the Ware-Hudson family is in for a busy day of football.

"They were waiting the whole week to see what time the games start between both of us," Ware-Hudson said. "So I guess they're planning to go to his game first and drive over to mine after, so they get to watch both of their sons play."

This weekend also marks Ware-Hudson’s final chance to play in front of family and friends at home, an experience he cherishes. "It's a lot, just always going home, playing in front of family and everything," he said. "I'm glad to see him [his brother] after the game and everything."

As Oregon enters the Big Ten, there’s a sense of excitement, but also the unusual feeling of playing familiar teams under a new conference banner. "Yeah, it definitely is weird," Ware-Hudson remarked. "It's like any other Pac-12 game, but a new league. So, same team we're playing, but it is definitely weird coming in like a Big Ten game."

With the Ducks now part of the Big Ten, Ware-Hudson admitted he’s been paying more attention to the conference’s teams. "Most definitely," he said. "Just watching our next opponents ahead of us, getting a feel on what they do primarily, and trying to prepare steps ahead."

The weight of the moment isn’t lost on the team either. Oregon is entering a new era, and Ware-Hudson knows how important it is to start strong. "It means a lot," he said of the team’s first Big Ten game. "We're going into a new era, a new conference and everything. They usually look down on the new guys, but we don’t really call ourselves like the new guys. We try to go into any conference and show them what Oregon football is about—our tradition."

Oregon used its recent bye week to tighten up areas of its game, particularly on defense. "I think just mentally, watching film, finding little details," Ware-Hudson said. "We all had personal growths, so we tried to work on that throughout the whole week, just little things, tightening up those screws."

When asked what’s different about the Big Ten, Ware-Hudson highlighted the conference's passing tendencies. "I feel like they're more pass-heavy," he noted. "Usually, they have a good solid line to run behind. These [Big Ten] teams run a lot of screens, so we’ve got to work on our cage. Our cage wasn’t good against Oregon State, so we’ve got to implement that this weekend."

Another unique challenge this weekend will be facing former teammates now suiting up for the opposition. "It's crazy playing against them since we played with each other for a minute," he said. "Like Jaylen Davies went to high school there, so it's gonna be cool."

Despite the personal connections, Ware-Hudson remains focused on the task ahead. "Starting at the same time, but we gotta go there and work," he said with determination.

The Ducks' Big Ten journey officially begins this weekend, and Ware-Hudson, alongside his teammates, is ready to show the conference what Oregon football is all about.