EUGENE - The tailgating at Autzen Stadium might feature some extra coffee this Saturday. The Oregon Ducks host the Nebraska Cornhuskers at 8:05 p.m. PT in a "Big Ten After Dark" special.
Oregon has been especially tough to beat under the lights at Autzen Stadium. The Ducks are 28-3 at home under coach Dan Lanning, including a perfect 10-0 in home night games.
Matt Rhule Changes Nebraska Plan For Late Oregon Kickoff
For Nebraska coach Matt Rhule and the Cornhuskers, that means a 10 p.m. kickoff on their body clocks. Rhule is preparing for the latest start of his coaching career and made some changes to the Nebraska plan this week.
“It's obviously a late, late, late game. I've never coached a game that late,” Rhule said.
“A lot of it just goes into sleep and really asking our guys to go to bed a little bit later each night this week,” Rhule continued. “We're going to finish this game at 2 a.m. our time. Your circadian rhythm starts to shut down.”
Nebraska’s sports science staff studied how to approach the unusual start time. Raiola said he also looked into strategies used by Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck and Memphis coach Charles Huff.
With that in mind, this week Nebraska pushed its football schedule back two hours. Meetings that typically begin at 2 p.m. will start at 4 p.m., while practice moves from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Players will eat afterward. Rhule said that was something he's never done before.
He also asked his players to go to bed later and later every day this week.
Rhule has experience preparing teams for trips across the country. He referenced his time with Tom Coughlin and the New York Giants, when the team maintained its East Coast schedule while traveling west by changing the meeting/practice times the day before the game. He also mentioned conversations with Joe Brady about Sean Payton changing NFL practice times based on kickoff times.
But this trip to "that team out west" presents a different problem.
“It's not even the time change or the travel. It's more just the lateness of everything,” Rhule said.
The plan for Nebraska is to adjust all week so that its football can speak for itself.
“We'll adjust to it, we'll prepare for it, but it's going to come down to blocking and tackling,” Rhule said.
There is one scheduling detail Rhule is thankful for - Nebraska has a bye afterward, giving the Cornhuskers time to recover before their next game and the cross-country travel. The Ducks are not as fortunate. Oregon will have to travel to face the Illinois Fighting Ilini at 12 or 12:30 p.m. PT on Saturday, Oct. 24.
Oregon Looks To Find Autzen Magic
Both teams are coming off of losses. However, the circumstances of each defeat are vastly different.
Oregon dropped its second game of the season with a 17-15 loss to the UCLA Bruins in a top-25 matchup. The offense struggled to find a rhythm, and quarterback Dylan Raiola endured a difficult outing that ended with him being replaced.
Nebraska nearly knocked off Indiana, showing it could compete with one of the Big Ten’s best teams but leaving frustrated by an opportunity that slipped away.
The environment in Eugene on Saturday night will be interesting to see.
Oregon’s home field is known for its intensity, with a reputation as one of the loudest stadiums in the country and a place where a Duck rides a Harley, momentum can flip in seconds and "it never rains."
Of course, the most recent loss to the Bruins stunned the crowd at Autzen. As the Bruins led and danced to "Shout!" after the end of the third quarter, many Ducks fans opted out. There were even some boo birds throughout the game, particularly when Oregon was on offense, from Ducks fans who were displeased with the 17-15 loss.
However, a zoomed-out view shows how dominant the Ducks' home field advantage has become. Oregon is 56-5 at home since 2017, which is good for the nation’s fourth-best home winning percentage over that stretch.
Rhule was asked if he plans to let his Nebraska team participate in "Shout!"
"I don't pay - If they want to do that, they can do it," Rhule said. "They want to go to Wisconsin, they want to do 'Jump Around,' do it. I first got here, I was screaming about stop looking at the drone show and focus. After two games, I was like, whatever, just do it. I expect our guys to go play. Especially coming off of last week, understanding whether you're ahead or behind in the fourth quarter. That's where big time wins happen, so let them go play."
It's the first time Nebraska will play in Autzen Stadium since the Ducks joined the Big Ten Conference and one storyline is making headlines...
Dylan Raiola Could Face Nebraska With Dante Moore Out
It is possible the Cornhuskers will face their former teammate in Ducks quarterback Dylan Raiola, who transferred to Oregon this offseason after two seasons in Lincoln.
Oregon starting quarterback Dante Moore was listed as "out" on the injury report on Wednesday and will be monitored throught the week. Raiola is in a competition with senior Brock Thomas and sophomore Akili Smith Jr. for the role is Moore cannot go.
After a deflating home loss to UCLA, the Ducks have an opportunity to give the Autzen crowd a reason to stay loud well past bedtime.
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