Ducks Wire staff predicts Oregon Ducks vs. Northwestern Wildcats

We spent last week's lead-up to the Oregon Ducks game against the Illinois Fighting Illini talking about reasons to be optimistic, with fans potentially having hope that an improved offensive line, upward-trending play from Dylan Raiola, and a dominant defense might be enough to keep Dan Lanning's team in the postseason picture going forward.

That seems like a long time ago, doesn't it?

Less than a week later, we are sitting with the Ducks at 4-3, having just fired offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer following another loss, and quarterback Dante Moore announcing that his 2026 season is over after the concussion he suffered earlier this year against USC.

Now, with a laundry list of questions to answer, the Ducks go forward into a brutal home matchup against the No. 20 Northwestern Wildcats, hoping that they can somehow manage to get back to their winning ways.

To preview the game, we go through our weekly roundtable with the writers from Ducks Wire to offer our opinions and predictions for what's to come. Here is our roundtable conversation.