Tag: oregon

Reports: Cal plans to hire Oregon DC Tosh Lupoi as coach

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Cal is working toward hiring Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi as its next head coach, The Athletic and ESPN reported Tuesday.

Lupoi played at the school and soon afterward served as its defensive line coach. He has been Oregon’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach under Dan Lanning since 2022, and he was named a Broyles Award semifinalist in 2024 and 2025 for the top assistant coach in college football.

Lupoi would replace Justin Wilcox, whom Cal fired 11 games into the season following a 31-10 loss to rival Stanford. Wilcox went 48-55 on the job over parts of nine seasons.

It would also mean two Oregon coordinators are leaving Eugene for head-coaching jobs in the same cycle. Kentucky hired Oregon offensive coordinator and Kentucky native Will Stein as its next coach this week.

It’s a similar sort of homecoming for Lupoi, 44, who hails from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Lupoi was a defensive lineman for the Golden Bears from 2000-05 and became their defensive line coach in 2008, but his tenure on the job was marked by multiple controversies. He was suspended for a game in 2010 after he instructed a player to fake an injury in an effort to slow down Oregon’s offense.

And in 2011, he left his alma mater for the same position at Washington and fans accused him of telling recruits to decommit from Cal. Future NFL linebacker Shaq Thompson switched from Cal to Washington ahead of signing day that year.

Lupoi also worked at Alabama from 2014-18, winning two national championships on that staff and rising to the defensive coordinator position, before spending 2019-21 with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars.

–Field Level Media

Reports: Kentucky to hire Oregon OC Will Stein

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Kentucky didn’t take long to find its replacement for the recently fired Mark Stoops, as multiple outlets reported Monday that the Wildcats are set to tab Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein as their next head coach.

Stein, 36, has Kentucky roots, having been born in Louisville to two University of Kentucky graduates before going on to quarterback the Louisville Cardinals from 2008-12.

That’s where his coaching career began as a grad assistant and then quarterbacks coach in 2013-14. His path took him through the state of Texas before he served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Dan Lanning’s Oregon Ducks the past three seasons.

Under Stein’s tutelage, the Ducks have been one of the top offenses in the nation, producing quarterbacks Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore in that time.

Per ESPN, Stein is expected to coordinate Oregon’s offense throughout its expected College Football Playoff appearance.

Stoops, 58, was relieved of duties on Sunday, following a 13-year run that provided Kentucky unprecedented football success. While he finished a modest 82-80, Stoops nevertheless elevated Kentucky to eight straight bowl games and a pair of 10-win seasons, just the third and fourth 10-plus win seasons in Kentucky history.

The Wildcats were 5-7 in 2025, their second straight losing season.

–Field Level Media

No. 6 Oregon fends off Demond Williams Jr., Washington

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Atticus Sappington made all four of his field goals, including a career-long 51-yard kick late in the third quarter, and No. 6 Oregon held on for a 26-14 win over Washington on Saturday afternoon in Seattle.

Dante Moore completed 20 of 29 passes for 286 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score for the Ducks (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten), who finished the regular season on a six-game winning streak. Oregon is in line to host a College Football Playoff opening round game next month.

The decisive moments of the game came in the fourth quarter, when the Huskies faced a fourth-and-8 from the Oregon 13. Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. found Denzel Boston for the second of two touchdown connections between the two, and Washington had new life, down 19-14 with 8:54 to play.

But a few plays later, Moore found Malik Benson open over the middle, and Benson raced upfield for a 64-yard touchdown strike. Oregon went back up by 12 and sealed its 12th straight road victory with Dillon Thieneman’s interception with 1:20 to play.

Washington finishes 8-4 overall and 5-4 in the Big 10. Williams threw two interceptions and was sacked four times as Oregon’s defense pressured him for much of the afternoon.

Oregon scored first, driving for a 46-yard field goal from Sappington on the Ducks’ first possession of the game.

A personal foul penalty against the Ducks late in the first quarter gave Washington field position inside Oregon territory. The Huskies got the ball to the Oregon 21, but Williams was intercepted by Ducks defensive back Jaden Canady to end the possession.

Oregon drove 80 yards after that turnover for a touchdown with Moore running into the end zone from a yard out. The Ducks took a 13-0 lead moments later on another Sappington field goal.

Washington took some momentum into halftime with a 12-play, 75-yard drive. On third down with no timeouts left and 10 seconds left in the half, Williams got a throw off under heavy pressure and hit Boston for a three-yard touchdown pass.

Oregon opened the second half with a drive for a field goal, going in front 16-7.

–Field Level Media

No. 6 Oregon looks to handle heated rival Washington

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No. 6 Oregon enters the final weekend of Big Ten football still very much in play for a spot in the conference championship game.

The most plausible scenario for the Ducks (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) to earn a rematch with Indiana for the Big Ten title is if Oregon wins at underdog Washington in Seattle on Saturday, Indiana wins over Purdue and Michigan upsets Ohio State.

Another scenario would have Oregon facing Michigan for the title, but that one is less likely to occur.

Any chance the Ducks have to get to the Big Ten title game starts with a victory against their biggest rival, Washington (8-3, 5-3). A win also assures Oregon will be in the College Football Playoff tournament, as the Ducks moved up a spot from No. 7 in this week’s CFP rankings.

Washington is 5-1 at home this season, its only loss to top-ranked Ohio State in late September. Oregon is 4-0 on the road in 2025.

For much of the Pac-8 and Pac-10 years, Washington dominated the rivalry against their neighbors to the south. But Oregon is 16-5 against Washington since the 2004 season, which includes two wins for the Huskies in 2023. One was in the regular season and the second came in the Pac-12 championship game.

Oregon’s rise in program prominence has turned this annual game into a heated rivalry.

Oregon is coming off a 42-27 win at home over then-No. 15 USC, the Ducks displaying their offensive depth and getting an 85-yard punt return from wide receiver Malik Benson to swing momentum their way. Quarterback Dante Moore and Oregon’s main trio of running backs have been instrumental in the team’s five-game winning streak.

“This game means a lot,” Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said. “It’s probably the No. 1 question I get asked when I’m out on the road with donors and sport groups and talking about our university about this game.”

Moore is fourth nationally in completion percentage (72.9) while passing for 2,447 yards, 23 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Washington gave up 10 sacks of quarterback Demond Williams Jr. in last season’s meeting with then-No. 1 Oregon, a 49-21 Ducks’ win. But Williams has had a solid 2025 campaign, with a completion percentage of 72 (sixth best in the nation) and 2,721 passing yards, 19 touchdown passes (six interceptions) and 568 rushing yards.

Williams is a threat to run and throw, with six rushing touchdowns. He ran for two and passed for two scores in the Huskies’ 48-14 win last Saturday at UCLA.

The Huskies have won 25 of their last 26 games at home. They expect that leading rusher Jonah Coleman and top wide receiver Denzel Boston will play more this week, as both have been limited by injuries.

Defensively, Washington is allowing just 18.9 points and 304 yards per game.

“Beating them does a lot for me,” Washington coach Jedd Fisch said. “Knocking them out (of the College Football Playoff) is just another part of it.”

–Field Level Media

CFP rankings: Same top five, Oregon moves to No. 6

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The top five of the College Football Playoff rankings did not change Tuesday, while Oregon was bumped one spot to No. 6 as a reward for defeating ranked rival Southern California over the weekend.

Oregon’s move came at the expense of Ole Miss, which slipped to No. 7 on an idle week (and amid the saga of whether Rebels coach Lane Kiffin will leave the team for LSU or Florida after the season). The Ducks’ 42-27 home win over the Trojans became the best victory on Oregon’s resume.

In his interview on ESPN’s broadcast, CFP chair Hunter Yurachek talked around the question of whether the committee would penalize Ole Miss if Kiffin left the school before the playoff.

“We would not have seen the team play without a coach,” Yurachek said.

Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, Georgia and Texas Tech once again constituted the top five. Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Alabama and BYU remained Nos. 8-11. Alabama was the final at-large team in the mock bracket, and BYU was the first team to miss the cut.

Behind them, Miami moved one spot past Utah for No. 12. Even though the Hurricanes cannot qualify for the ACC championship game, they represented the league in the bracket as a placeholder for one of the five highest-ranked conference champs.

Miami defeated Virginia Tech 34-17 on the road last Saturday, while Utah got a scare from visiting Kansas State and had to rally to win 51-47.

With the move, Miami is still three spots behind Notre Dame, a team it beat head to head to open the season. Yurachek made clear the committee prefers Notre Dame’s full body of work.

“(Miami and Notre Dame) were compared this week in the same pod with Alabama and a one-loss BYU,” Yurachek said, “and the committee still feels that Notre Dame is a complete team, has been consistent throughout the season, and deserves to be ranked where they are at No. 9 ahead of Alabama, a really good two-loss team with some great wins, and then a one-loss BYU team, and then Miami falls in accordingly.”

Yurachek went on to praise Miami quarterback Carson Beck’s recent performance and pointed out that the Hurricanes have been the rankings’ biggest riser, from No. 18 in the initial rankings on Nov. 4 to No. 12 this week.

Oregon’s move up to No. 6 created a juicy first-round matchup in the mock bracket vs. 11th seed Miami. That would pit Miami coach Mario Cristobal against his former school. It also created a potential first-round matchup between SEC rivals Ole Miss and Alabama in the 7-10 game.

Tulane remained at No. 24 as the only non-power-conference team in the Top 25. The Green Wave area the projected American Conference champion and the No. 12 seed in the bracket for the second week running.

There is still room for chaos in the final week of the regular season. Nine of the top 10 teams have to go on the road and many play their rivals — including Ohio State at No. 15 Michigan, Indiana at Purdue, Texas A&M at No. 16 Texas, Georgia at No. 23 Georgia Tech and Alabama at Auburn.

Kiffin will be coaching the Rebels in the Egg Bowl at Mississippi State on Friday, and his decision of whether to leave or stay with the program is expected to come the following day.

The CFP’s final rankings will be announced on Dec. 7, one day after the conference title games.

CFP mock bracket
First-round games:
–No. 12 Tulane at No. 5 Texas Tech
–No. 11 Miami at No. 6 Oregon
–No. 10 Alabama at No. 7 Ole Miss
–No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oklahoma
First-round byes: No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Georgia

CFP Top 25
1. Ohio State (11-0)
2. Indiana (11-0)
3. Texas A&M (11-0)
4. Georgia (10-1)
5. Texas Tech (10-1)
6. Oregon (10-1)
7. Ole Miss (10-1)
8. Oklahoma (9-2)
9. Notre Dame (9-2)
10. Alabama (9-2)
11. BYU (10-1)
12. Miami (9-2)
13. Utah (9-2)
14. Vanderbilt (9-2)
15. Michigan (9-2)
16. Texas (8-3)
17. Southern California (8-3)
18. Virginia (9-2)
19. Tennessee (8-3)
20. Arizona State (8-3)
21. SMU (8-3)
22. Pitt (8-3)
23. Georgia Tech (9-2)
24. Tulane (9-2)
25. Arizona (8-3)

–Field Level Media

Oregon new No. 5 in AP Top 25, Ohio State stays No. 1

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Oregon moved back into the top five of the Associated Press Top 25 poll, while the first four spots remained unchanged Sunday.

Oregon (10-1) moved up one spot to No. 5 following a dominating 42-27 home victory over Southern California on Saturday. The Ducks leapfrogged Ole Miss (10-1), which fell one spot while on its bye week. Oregon was ranked as high as No. 3 in early October.

Ohio State (11-0), Indiana (11-0), Texas A&M (11-0) and Georgia (10-1) remained the first four teams in that order.

With Oregon jumping two spots, Texas Tech (10-1) also dropped a spot to No. 7 while on a bye week. Oklahoma (9-2), Notre Dame (9-2) and Alabama (9-2) round out the top 10 in that order. Notre Dame crushed Syracuse 70-7 on Saturday, while Alabama was a 56-0 winner over Eastern Illinois.

Michigan (9-2) made the most forward progress this week, jumping three spots to No. 15 following a 45-20 victory over Maryland. Georgia Tech (9-2) tumbled eight spots to No. 23 following a 42-28 home loss to Pittsburgh.

Missouri and Houston dropped out of the Top 25, while Pittsburgh entered at No. 24 and SMU entered at No. 25.

Associated Press Top 25

1. Ohio State (11-0)
2. Indiana (11-0)
3. Texas A&M (11-0)
4. Georgia (10-1)
5. Oregon (10-1)
6. Ole Miss (10-1)
7. Texas Tech (10-1)
8. Oklahoma (9-2)
9. Notre Dame (9-2)
10. Alabama (9-2)
11. BYU (10-1)
12. Vanderbilt (9-2)
13. Miami (9-2)
14. Utah (9-2)
15. Michigan (9-2)
16. Texas (8-3)
17. Virginia (9-2)
18. Tennessee (8-3)
19. USC (8-3)
20. James Madison (10-1)
21. North Texas (10-1)
22. Tulane (9-2)
23. Georgia Tech (9-2)
24. Pittsburgh (8-3)
25. SMU (8-3)

–Field Level Media

No. 7 Oregon outguns No. 15 USC to stay on track for CFP spot

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No. 7 Oregon had enough offense to outlast No. 15 USC for a 42-27 Big Ten victory on Saturday afternoon in Eugene, Ore., as the Ducks overcame the most penalty yards against them in two years to stay on track for a College Football Playoff spot.

Oregon (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) got a pair of touchdown catches from tight end Kenyon Sadiq, intercepted USC quarterback Jayden Maiava twice and held Trojans star wide receiver Makai Lemon to 34 receiving yards — though Lemon had two touchdown catches.

The Ducks’ Dante Moore completed 22 of 30 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Maiava finished 25 of 43 for 306 yards with three touchdowns for the Trojans (8-3, 6-2).

Both teams scored touchdowns on trick plays. Lemon threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Tanook Hines in the second quarter to tie the game at 14. Ducks linebacker Bryce Boettcher responded with a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:52 to go until halftime to give Oregon a 28-14 lead at the break.

Boettcher, a Eugene native, defensive starter and a key player on Oregon’s baseball team, played in his final regular-season game at Autzen Stadium.

Points were plentiful as Oregon penalties helped USC sustain drives. Early in the fourth quarter, back-to-back pass interference calls against the Ducks helped USC’s touchdown drive. Maiava found Lake McRee for a nine-yard touchdown pass to make it 35-27 with 11:32 left to play.

But Oregon responded, as it did much of the afternoon after the Trojans tied the game or got within one score. Moore engineered an 11-play, 79-yard drive that ended in Noah Whittington’s nine-yard touchdown run with 5:30 to play.

Whittington carried 19 times for 104 yards as Oregon defeated USC for the sixth time in the past seven meetings. The Ducks ended the day with 11 penalties for 130 yards.

USC got the ball down 42-27 and converted a fourth-and-8 to stay alive as Maiava was chased out of the pocket and completed a deep ball to Ja’Kobi Lane for 32 yards. But when the Trojans faced another fourth down on the same drive, the Ducks got the stop they needed to seal victory when Maiava threw behind Lemon incomplete.

Hines had six catches for 141 yards for USC. The Trojans were held to 52 rushing yards as a team.

–Field Level Media

Report: No. 7 Oregon missing two WRs vs. No. 15 USC

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No. 7 Oregon will be without top receivers Dakorien Moore and Gary Bryant Jr. on Saturday when it hosts No. 15 Southern California, ESPN reported.

The Ducks (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) are chasing a College Football Playoff bid and face a Trojans (8-2, 6-1) squad that has won three straight games.

Moore will miss his third game in a row with an injury sustained in practice earlier this month, while Bryant did not play last week after suffering an apparent foot injury in the No. 8 win at Iowa.

Moore, a freshman who ranked No. 1 at his position in the Class of 2025 by 247Sports, has 28 catches for a team-high 443 yards and three touchdowns in eight games.

Bryant ranks second on the Ducks in touchdown catches (four), third in receptions (25) and fourth in receiving yards (299).

–Field Level Media

No. 8 Oregon minding own business with Minnesota in sights

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The top of the College Football Playoff standings feature Big Ten teams at No. 1 and No. 2, and one-loss Oregon might not have enough time to close the gap.

Ranked No. 8 in this week’s CFP rankings released Tuesday, Oregon gained one spot from last week and carries visions of a return to the Big Ten title game into Friday night when the Ducks host Minnesota in Eugene, Ore.

The Ducks (8-1 overall, 5-1 in Big Ten) scored a gritty 18-16 win at now-No. 21 Iowa last week. Ohio State is No. 1 in the rankings with Indiana, the only team to beat Oregon this season, ranked second.

Oregon received a lot of praise across the nation for being able to go into Iowa, deal with poor weather and put together a game-winning drive inside of two minutes to play that resulted in a field goal to retake the lead with three seconds left. The Ducks were without wide receiver Dakorien Moore and tight end Kenyon Sadiq, and turned to their running back depth on offense.

It’s not clear if Moore, Sadiq, starting offensive tackle Alex Harkey or linebacker Devon Jackson will be able to play on Friday as they work their way back from injuries. Oregon could also be without wide receiver Gary Bryant Jr., who was injured during the Iowa game.

That could mean another week of relying on a corps of running backs led by veteran Noah Whittington, who rushed for 117 yards at Iowa, plus Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr., who’ve combined for 14 touchdowns this season.

“Every year is different and unique. You try to play to your team’s strengths and what they do well,” Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said. “We’ve also had some games that the environment dictated that we’re going to run the ball a little bit more. But really proud of our offensive staff and their creativity in the run game and what they’ve done.”

Since a 30-20 loss to Indiana last month, Oregon has three victories in a row. The Ducks gave up a combined 32 points in wins over Iowa, Wisconsin and Rutgers.

Minnesota faces Oregon for the first time since the Ducks jumped to the Big Ten. The Golden Gophers (6-3, 4-2) are coming off a bye, and before that, a 23-20 come-from-behind win over Michigan State at home in overtime.

Minnesota’s defense has 32 sacks in nine games, which leads the Big Ten. But the Gophers are 0-3 on the road this season, outplayed at Cal and dominated by Ohio State and Iowa.

On offense, redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey is in his first season as the starting quarterback, and isn’t a major threat to run with the ball. Lindsey, however, has a 62 percent completion rate with 10 touchdown passes and six thrown interceptions.

Minnesota doesn’t have the scoring potential that the Ducks have shown, but its defense could keep the game close. The Gophers will be making their second trip out to the West Coast this season.

“Whether it’s here (in Minneapolis) or whether it’s in Eugene, Oregon, you’ve got to find a way in November to play your best football,” head coach P.J. Fleck said.

“They (the Ducks) don’t have many flaws, that’s for sure.”

–Field Level Media

Atticus Sappington’s last-second kick lifts No. 9 Oregon over No. 20 Iowa

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Atticus Sappington made a 39-yard field goal with three seconds left to lift No. 9 Oregon to an 18-16 Big Ten victory over No. 20 Iowa on Saturday afternoon in damp Iowa City.

The Ducks (8-1 overall, 5-1 in Big Ten) never trailed until 1:51 remained in the game — when Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski ran for a 3-yard score on fourth-and-goal. The Hawkeyes (6-3, 4-2) couldn’t convert their 2-point try and led 16-15 when the Ducks and quarterback Dante Moore got the ball back.

Oregon marched 54 yards in 10 plays to set up Sappington’s game-winner. The key play was Moore’s pinpoint 24-yard completion to Malik Benson that put Oregon at the 27-yard line with 23 seconds to play.

Moore finished 13-for-21 for 112 yards without a touchdown pass in the consistent rain, but the Ducks ran for 261 yards against one of the top defenses in the nation. Noah Whittington led the ground attack with 17 carries for 118 yards.

Gronowski was 10 of 18 for 138 yards and a touchdown pass, but Iowa was held to 101 rushing yards.

The Ducks scored first with their defense. A high snap out of punt formation was batted out of the end zone for an Oregon safety at the 9:55 mark of the first quarter.

Oregon had good field position after the safety and drove close to the red zone, but Deshaun Lee picked off a Moore pass in the end zone.

The Ducks took a 9-0 second-quarter lead on Dierre Hill Jr.’s 19-yard run down the left sideline that capped off an eight-play, 82-yard drive. Iowa answered with a 10-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Gronowski’s 3-yard touchdown pass to DJ Vonnahme.

Sappington made a 46-yard field goal as the first-half clock expired, giving the Ducks a 12-7 halftime lead.

An Iowa fumble by Kaden Wetjen as the Hawkeyes approached the red zone in the third led to another Sappington field goal and a 15-7 lead. Iowa made it 15-10 on Drew Stevens’ 58-yard field goal early in the fourth.

Oregon played without key receivers Dakorien Moore and tight end Kenyon Sadiq and Gary Bryant Jr., another wide receiver, left with an ankle injury in the first half. Offensive lineman Alex Harkey also missed the game for the Ducks.

–Field Level Media