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QuickTake:
The Ducks are back on the practice field preparing for Texas Tech – while stirring up the masses about what they’re wearing in the Orange Bowl.
We know the days before New Year’s can be a bit of a blur. But as you were assembling that grill, avoiding the scale and — this might be projection — sifting through the cookies of Christmas past, the Oregon Ducks were getting back on the practice field.
The Ducks fly out to Miami on Monday. The Orange Bowl against Texas Tech is set for Thursday.
It’s about to get real, quickly, for a team that should be flying south on all cylinders.
“I think everyone understands the magnitude of this game,” Oregon linebacker Bryce Boettcher said. “…I would be lying to you if I didn’t say I was a little more fired up than some weeks. I’m excited for this one. It’s a big reason why I came back.”
Boettcher, of course, was the marquee returning name after last season’s Rose Bowl loss to Ohio State — and he’s backed that decision up with a career-high 113 tackles entering the Orange Bowl.
And while the focus for this Oregon team remains firmly on the Red Raiders, the Ducks have also received similarly encouraging news about 2026 over the last two weeks.
Center Iapani Laloulu announced he’s returning for his senior season. Defensive tackle Bear Alexander, who transferred to Oregon from USC a season ago, is also coming back after saying he’s taken significant strides in his development with the Ducks.
And like Boettcher a year ago, Alexander isn’t ready for the ride to end.
“One thing that’s clear to me — there’s no development at the second level,” Alexander said of the NFL. “So just making sure we’re locked in and getting every resource and using every tool at Oregon while we’re still here.”
But what about quarterback?
To recap: The Ducks have the heart of their trenches coming back. They have a receiving corps, running backs room and secondary filled with talented underclassmen.
The only thing missing — other than tight end Kenyon Sadiq, a projected first-round pick — is quarterback Dante Moore.
We’re likely not going to get an answer on Moore, who also carries first-round projections, until after the playoff run. But for anyone still craving dots to connect after steamrolling through the “Knives Out” series over the holiday, Moore did post a video to his Instagram featuring highlights of him at Autzen that ended with the caption: “To be continued.”
And then there’s this: Austin Novosad will be entering the transfer portal.
A former top-150 recruit, Novosad played in just one game this season for the Ducks, falling behind Eugene walk-on Brock Thomas on the backup quarterback depth chart. Novosad was the No. 10 quarterback in the 2023 class and initially committed to Baylor before flipping to Oregon ahead of signing day following the hiring of Will Stein as offensive coordinator.
Stein was hired earlier this month as the head coach of Kentucky.
Novosad will finish his Oregon career having completed 12 of 15 passes for 99 yards.
It also leaves Oregon’s quarterback room a little less crowded. The Ducks will bring Thomas, Luke Moga and Akili Smith Jr. with them into 2026 — a talented trio, but one with just 21 combined career pass attempts.
If Moore leaves for the NFL, this shapes up as a prime landing spot for a transfer quarterback, given the amount of talent Oregon has returning. And if Moore doesn’t leave for the NFL, well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Other portal updates
Here’s a list of Oregon players who have announced their intention to enter the transfer portal:
Defensive backs:
Jahlil Florence (19 snaps in 2025)
Dakoda Fields (41 snaps)
Solomon Davis (40 snaps)
Sione Laulea (116 snaps)
Kingston Lopa (169 snaps)
Of note: Yes, this is a fair number of players from the secondary. However, the Ducks signed six DBs during the 2026 signing period and will return established starters such as Brandon Finney Jr., Aaron Flowers and Ify Obidegwu.
Receiver:
Justius Lowe (132 snaps)
Offensive lineman:
Lipe Moala (10 snaps)
The uniforms
Oregon knocked it out of the park against James Madison. Playing in the first home playoff game in Autzen Stadium history, the team with more uniform combinations than gifts I watched my nephews unwrap on Christmas morning gave the fans exactly what they wanted: green and yellow.
It was magnificent. It was beautiful. It was a trap.
Because while the tops of the uniforms the Ducks are wearing in the Orange Bowl are completely fine — white numbers with black shoulder plates and winged helmets — those are definitely gray pants completing the ensemble.
And, well, there’s a bit of a history with the Ducks and gray pants.
The Ducks lost the 2011 national championship in gray pants. They lost to unranked Arizona in 2013 in gray pants. And guess what they were wearing in the 2015 national title game?
Gray pants.
And then there was this day.
Which led to this tweet:
And, if I may, a fairly good story.
Now, do I think Oregon is going to lose because they’re wearing gray pants? No. But if they do — and they choose to wear them again for another big game — we’re just going to tack it onto the list.
Our plan / Submit mailbag questions
Lookout is sending photographer Isaac Wasserman and me to Miami for the Orange Bowl. I arrive Monday night and will be providing coverage throughout Tuesday’s team media day and Wednesday’s coaches’ press conference.
On both days, we’ll be running a travel log post, where Isaac and I will periodically update with the sights, sounds and stories from our time in Miami.
Have any questions you’d like me to answer in the coming days or things you’d like us to show you from Miami? Shoot me an email at tyson@lookoutlocal.com, and I’ll do my best to answer them in a column or one of our live updates throughout the week.