Oregon soccer is ranked No. 1 within the nation for the primary time in 12 years.
The Geese’ first sport on the high shall be Saturday afternoon in a Huge Ten matchup towards No. 20 Illinois in Eugene, Ore.
Oregon (7-0, 4-0) is 6-1 all time as a No. 1 workforce and is considered one of solely 10 undefeated FBS groups this season. The Geese are 7-0 for the sixth time in program historical past and the primary time since 2013, and so they have wins over two Prime 25 groups this season in Ohio State and Boise State.
Oregon is 35-1 over its final 36 residence video games and is 44-3 at residence since 2017.
So what does No. 1 imply to teach Dan Lanning and the workforce?
“Who cares?” Lanning stated, unable to carry again a smile. “You do not sit midway by a meal and say you are finished consuming when there’s nonetheless a variety of meals left on the plate. That is the place we’re at. We’re on the halfway level of the season. We’re not finished but. There’s a variety of issues that we nonetheless wish to accomplish. That does not actually matter for us.”
Lanning, in keeping with not less than one media outlet that covers the Geese, closed observe to the media for the week main as much as Saturday’s sport.
The Geese are coming off a 35-0 win over Purdue on the highway final week. Oregon posted a shutout for the primary time since 2012, pressured two turnovers, and held Purdue to 93 passing yards.
Geese quarterback Dillon Gabriel accomplished 21 of 25 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns. Gabriel’s completion proportion (77.0) leads the nation.
Illinois (6-1, 3-1) has been one of many shock groups in school soccer this season. The Preventing Illini defeated then-No. 19 Kansas on Sept. 7, then-No. 22 Nebraska on the highway on Sept. 20, and topped then-No. 24 Michigan final week.
Solely a 21-7 loss to present No. 3 Penn State on Sept. 28 stands because the lone blemish on the Illinois schedule.
Quarterback Luke Altmyer ran for a landing and handed for an additional final week towards Michigan, and the Illinois protection had three takeaways.
Illinois will go to Eugene for the second time in program historical past and the primary time since 1995. Will probably be this system’s first journey west of the Rocky Mountains because the 2019 Redbox Bowl in Santa Clara, Calif.
Saturday shall be Illinois’ first regular-season sport on the West Coast since a non-conference journey to Washington in 2014. Illinois will face the nation’s top-ranked workforce for the sixteenth time in program historical past, with a 3-12 file in these video games.
“It is a group that sort of does what they should to get issues finished,” Illinois coach Bret Bielema stated Monday. “Tremendous fulfilling experience that we’re on proper now and tremendous enthusiastic about this weekend’s alternative and benefiting from it.”
–Area Stage Media
