EUGENE — For the first and last time ever, Oregon will play in what might be the most unique setting in college football, which is also by far the smallest.
Lake Michigan is the backdrop to Northwestern’s 12,023-seat Martin Stadium, the temporary home of the Wildcats while the new $862 million Ryan Field is being built.
“There’s a lot of cool venues we get to play at and that’s one of them because it’s a one of one opportunity,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “It’s definitely a different environment, but I’ve coached in some of those. I’ve coached high school football. I’ve coached FCS football. I’ve played NAIA football. I’ve been in some of those environments and if you love football you want to play your best regardless of what the crowd looks like or what the setting is.”
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The No. 4 Ducks have not played in a stadium anywhere near as small as where they will be on Saturday (9 a.m., FOX), with Reser Stadium’s 28,840 in 2022, when the West side of the stadium was under construction, being the next smallest crowd Oregon has played in front of since 2016 other than when attendance was limited or barred in 2020.
Until the NCAA eliminated attendance requirements in 2023 — schools previously needed to average 15,000 paid attendance to maintain FBS membership — such a setting was not even permissible.
The national television stage will be massively larger than the venue though, as FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff will be on campus and the network’s lead broadcast crew will be calling the game.
“This is why you play in the Big Ten,” Northwestern coach David Braun said. “The students are back. We need Wildside (the student section) at a whole nother level. The Lakefront needs to be packed with purple. We need to create a home field advantage.
“It may be a smaller venue but it can still be an incredible advantage for the Cats.”
Cornerback Theran Johnson, who transferred to UO from Northwestern this spring, got to play home games at Martin Stadium and Wrigley Field last season. Johnson, who has yet to play this season due to a right knee injury, had the return trip circled heading into the season.
“It’s going to mean a lot,” Johnson said last month.
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Playing the reigning Big Ten Champions on-campus was an opportunity several Wildcats were looking forward to once the game was announced. Northwestern went 2-5 in home games last season, including 2-3 at Martin Stadium, but did not beat a conference opponent.
“Couldn’t ask for a better (conference) opening,” defensive lineman Anto Saka said at Big Ten media days last month. “A lot of people have us as an underdog; we don’t necessarily care about that. We know what we got over here and we’re ready to show the world what we got.”
Several Oregon players were excited about the uniqueness of going to such a small stadium, which is also the home to Northwestern’s soccer and lacrosse teams.
Only offensive tackles Alex Harkey and Isaiah World, who transferred from Texas State and Nevada, respectively, have played college games in stadiums as small as Martin Stadium.
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Center Iapani Laloulu got to play at several waterfront stadiums while in high school in Hawaii. But the similarity in backdrop is where the comparison ends.
“Hawaii you got those beautiful palm trees, you see the beautiful sun right above you, feeling that beautiful breeze,” Laloulu said. “I don’t know how it is out in Chicago. … Probably might give me a sense of home, a little bit, being right to the water. It’s like home, but not really home.”
No. 4 Oregon (2-0) at Northwestern (1-1)
- When: Saturday, Sept. 13
- Time: 9 a.m. PT
- Where: Martin Stadium, Evanston, Illinois
- TV channel: FOX (KPTV in Portland)
- Watch: You can watch the Ducks vs. Northwestern college football live for free with Fubo (free trial), or with DirecTV (promotional offers, cheapest streaming plans) or see more streaming options below.
- Stream: Fubo (free trial) or DirecTV (free trial). Streaming broadcasts for this game will be available on these streaming services locally in Oregon and Washington, but may not be available outside of the Pacific Northwest, depending on your location.
— James Crepea covers the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten.
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