Oregon isn’t focused on its No. 1 ranking, but Illinois certainly is.
The No. 20 Fighting Illini will face the Ducks on Saturday at Autzen Stadium, with a chance to defeat the top-ranked team in the nation. Illinois coach Bret Bielema said that the ranking serves as motivation for his team.
“For me, as a head coach, to ignore that would be silly,” Bielema said this week. “We have to know that that’s the No. 1 team in the country and there’s a reason they’re No. 1. They’re a very good football team; they execute very, very well.”
The Illini (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) haven’t played against the top-ranked team since 2007, when they won against Ohio State on the road 28-21. Illinois finished that season with a record of 9-4 and participated in the Rose Bowl.
Oregon (7-0, 4-0) has a different view on the rankings. When asked about it, coach Dan Lanning said: “Who cares?”
“I think it’s really simple for us when our messaging hasn’t changed the entire year. You don’t sit halfway through a meal and say you’re done eating when there’s still a lot of food left on the plate,” Lanning explained.
“That’s where we’re at: We’re at the midpoint of the season. We’re not done yet. There’s a lot of things that we still want to accomplish. So that doesn’t really matter for us.”
Oregon is coming off a 35-0 win against Purdue. However, it was a close 32-31 victory over then No. 2 Ohio State the week before that made a strong statement for the Ducks in their first season in the Big Ten.
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who is gaining attention in the Heisman race, leads the country with a 77% completion rate. He has 15 passing touchdowns and four rushing scores.
“When you’ve got a quarterback in that environment with a team around him, it’s always a challenge,” Bielema said.
Gabriel’s opponent from Illinois is Luke Altmyer, who has thrown for 15 touchdowns this season and only one interception, giving him the best touchdown-to-interception ratio in the Power Four. He is completing 65.9% of his passes.
Altmyer threw for one touchdown and ran for another in Illinois’ 21-7 win over No. 24 Michigan last weekend. This victory marked the third time the Illini have defeated a Top 25 team this season, which is the most for the team since 2007.
The last time Oregon faced Illinois was in 1995, during the first home game for then-Ducks coach Mike Bellotti. Ricky Whittle scored three rushing touchdowns, and Oregon won the game 34-31 after being behind at halftime.
