UCLA is just days away from joining the Big Ten. After 96 years and 123 national championships in the Pac-12, the Bruins are at the forefront of the Big Ten’s West Coast expansion. Prior to UCLA’s official move, Daily Bruin Sports will preview the football, men’s basketball and other top programs of each school.

Football
2023 record: 12-2, 8-1 Pac-12, Pac-12 championship game appearance
Coach: Dan Lanning

Dan Lanning took over Oregon’s head coaching position in 2022.

After an initial regular-season loss to the eventual undefeated champion Georgia, Oregon found its footing and cemented an almost perfect conference record in 2022, tainted only by two losses to Oregon State and fellow Pac-12 titan Washington at season’s end.

The same fate awaited Lanning at the end of the 2023 season – a nearly unblemished record before the Ducks’ season terminated with a second-place finish in the Pac-12 tournament. The loss knocked Oregon short of the College Football Playoffs, an undertaking the program hasn’t accomplished since the CFP’s inception in 2014.

The past two seasons have left Lanning’s Ducks with the feeling of continuously being second best.

The 2024 season – and the transition to the Big Ten – however, finally offers the squad an opportunity to reach the sport’s pinnacle.

Oregon’s biggest advantage heading into the upcoming season is the CFP’s expansion.

With the adjusted layout of the new playoff system, the Ducks will only have to limit their losses to three or less – a feat they’ve pulled off in the past five seasons.

The Ducks’ high-octane offense and disciplined defense make them a contender for the Big Ten title, but their inaugural schedule in their new conference will test their mettle. Oregon will face powerhouses of the former Big Ten East in their 2024 season – Ohio State and defending national champion Michigan.

With a top-ranked incoming class – No. 1 in the Big Ten and No. 3 in the nation – Lanning will look to fill the hole left by former star quarterback Bo Nix’s drafting to the NFL’s Denver Broncos. Nix – who ranked second in the NCAA in passing yards with 4,508 – helped lead Oregon to the country’s No. 2 offense in 2023.

Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Will Stein will have a slew of options at his disposal to fill the role of signal-caller for the Ducks. Former Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel remains the standout solution after earning unanimous All-Big 12 First Team honors and ranking fourth in the NCAA in total career touchdowns at 152.

Joining Gabriel will be former Bruin Dante Moore and Austin Novosad who returns to Oregon as a redshirt sophomore. Moore, a five-star recruit, threw for 2,392 yards and collected 32 touchdowns in his senior year of high school, while Novosad, a four-star recruit, passed for 2,911 yards and 39 touchdowns.

The Ducks will similarly have to stack their defensive arsenal to withstand the offensive giants of the Big Ten – namely Ohio State and Illinois, the conference’s 2023 offensive leaders.

After a 2023 season full of career highs – including 72 total tackles – linebacker Jeffrey Bassa will return to Lanning’s roster. Fellow linebacker Jestin Jacobs will join Bassa on the frontline after not missing a tackle in 2023 and playing a total of 288 defensive snaps.

Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Tosh Lupoi will lead incoming defensive tackles Jamaree Caldwell from Houston and Derrick Harmon from Michigan State. Harmon – whose run defense ranked 33rd in the FBS in 2023 – will be a crucial addition to Oregon’s defensive lineup.

Men’s basketball
2023-2024 record: 24-12, 12-8 Pac-12
Coach: Dana Altman

Pac-12 tournament champions.

That’s the legacy Dana Altman left on the Ducks’ Pac-12 terminal season after completing 14 years as head coach for the team.

Although it pulled off a 75-68 win over Colorado – who managed to beat out Oregon in final Pac-12 rankings – to claim the conference championship title, Altman’s unit still fell to Creighton, where he previously coached, in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32.

Oregon currently sits at the bottom of Big Ten recruitment class rankings, a harrowing position after the loss of guard Jermaine Couisnard, who led the team in scoring and averaged 16.6 points per game last season.

But hope transpires for the Ducks in the transfer portal.

Sharp-shooting forward Brandon Angel will make his way to Eugene for his final year of college eligibility. The former Stanford starter averaged a career-high 13 points per game during his senior season and led the Cardinal in free throws made.

Angel will join returning guard Jackson Shelstad and forward Kwame Evans Jr. Shelstad fell just behind Couisnard in scoring last season, averaging 12.8 points and 2.8 assists per game. Evans Jr. – another 2023 five-star recruit like Shelstad – made wide defensive contributions during the team’s March Madness stint with 10 defensive rebounds.

It’s no question that Altman has the experience to lead the Ducks back to NCAA glory – after all, the Pac-12’s winningest coach led his team to its first Final Four appearance in 78 years in 2017.

But for a berth in the Sweet Sixteen, he may have to learn how to conquer serious Big Ten foes such as Illinois and Purdue.