How far Oregon has to travel to play every team in the Big Ten Conference
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The Oregon Ducks are reportedly heading to the Big Ten Conference, per multiple reports that came out on Friday morning.
Whether you love the news or hate the news, it appears that the future has been set, and the Ducks will now be joining up with the USC Trojans, UCLA Bruins, and Washington Huskies once again in a conference with Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Penn State.
While the competition on the football field will be excellent to watch, one of the main downsides of this expected partnership is the travel that will coincide with these games, both for teams and for fans.
There is still a small contingent of teams on the west coast, but for the most part, Oregon will be asked to travel to the Midwest and the east coast multiple times per year now in order to play in-conference games.
So how far will they actually be traveling in order to get to all of their opponents? We looked it up.
University of Washington
Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Total Distance from Autzen Stadium: 295 miles
Drive Time: 5 hours, 24 minutes
Estimated Flight Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Analysis: This is a drive that I and many other Oregon fans have made several times. It’s long, but not too bad up and down the I-5. Nothing changes here.
University of California, Los Angeles
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Total Distance from Autzen Stadium: 858 miles
Drive Time: 12 hours, 26 minutes
Estimated Flight Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Analysis: A drive to the Rose Bowl is very doable if you don’t mind making a day of it. I drove to the 2012 Rose Bowl and back to watch Oregon beat Wisconsin. Those who want to make the trip surely can.
Univeristy of Southern California
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Total Distance from Autzen Stadium: 861 miles
Drive Time: 12 hours, 40 minutes
Estimated Flight Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Analysis: Same as driving to the Rose Bowl, a trip south down I-5 is not impossible to catch a game against USC in Los Angeles.
University of Nebraska
Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Total Distance from Autzen Stadium: 1,616 miles
Drive Time: 23 hours, 29 minutes
Estimated Flight Time: 5 hours (1 stop)
Analysis: If you drive to a game in Nebraska, you have to really want it. That’s a full day of driving and a lot of long stretches of open road. Bring a book on tape, for sure.
University of Minnesota
Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Total Distance from Autzen Stadium: 1,842 miles
Drive Time: 1 day, 2 hours
Estimated Flight Time: 4 hours, 55 minutes (1 stop)
Analysis: At this distance, a flight certainly sounds better than a drive. Something about crossing that 24-hour mark makes a big difference.
University of Iowa
Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Total Distance from Autzen Stadium: 1,914 miles
Drive Time: 1 day, 4 hours
Estimated Flight Time: 5 hours, 20 minutes (1 stop)
Analysis: If you want to make the trip to Des Moines from Eugene, I think that flying is certainly the way to go.
University of Wisconsin
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Total Distance from Autzen Stadium: 2,085 miles
Drive Time: 1 day, 6 hours
Estimated Flight Time: 5 hours, 20 minutes (1 stop)
Analysis: Even flying, this isn’t a short trip. The destination at the end would be a ton of fun to watch, though.
University of Illinois
Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
Total Distance from Autzen Stadium: 2,135 miles
Drive Time: 1 day, 7 hours
Estimated Flight Time: 5 hours, 30 minutes (1 stop)
Analysis: I can promise you that I will never be making the drive to Illinois, and even a flight to watch the Fighting Illini may not be too appealing.
Northwestern University
Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
Total Distance from Autzen Stadium: 2,143 miles
Drive Time: 1 day, 7 hours
Estimated Flight Time: 5 hours, 45 minutes (1 stop)
Analysis: A flight to watch Northwestern play Oregon may be feasible since it is near Chicago. Still, the destination isn’t too appealing once again.
University of Purdue
Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
Total Distance from Autzen Stadium: 2,238 miles
Drive Time: 1 day, 8 hours
Estimated Flight Time: 5 hours, 45 minutes (1 stop)
Analysis: Finding a direct route to Purdue may be a bit troublesome. Sounds like a traveling headache waiting to happen.
University of Indiana
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Total Distance from Autzen Stadium: 2,274 miles
Drive Time: 1 day, 9 hours
Estimated Flight Time: 5 hours, 45 minutes (1 stop)
Analysis: I could see a game at Indiana being pretty fun, and as far as flights go, you’re not working too much harder than you would to get to any other place in the conference.
Michigan State University
Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Total Distance from Autzen Stadium: 2,342 miles
Drive Time: 1 day, 9 hours
Estimated Flight Time: 6 hours
Analysis: Sign me up for a trip to East Lansing. The flight time may cross the six-hour barrier, but I think it would be worth it.
University of Michigan
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Total Distance from Autzen Stadium: 2,359 miles
Drive Time: 1 day, 10 hours
Estimated Flight Time: 6 hours
Analysis: I can’t wait to watch a game in the Big House over the next few years. The flight may be long, but it will be well worth it.
Ohio State University
Total Distance from Autzen Stadium: 2,450 miles
Drive Time: 1 day, 11 hours
Estimated Flight Time: 6 hours, 20 minutes (1 stop)
Analysis: Oregon fans who went to the Ohio State game in 2021 know what travel to Columbus was like. For me, it wasn’t too much of a headache, and the result made everything about it that much better.
Penn State University
(Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
Total Distance from Autzen Stadium: 2,687 miles
Drive Time: 1 day, 14 hours
Estimated Flight Time: 6 hours, 50 minutes (1 stop)
Analysis: If it’s a white-out night game at Happy Valley, I’m there. Otherwise, that travel time that pushes 7 hours is tough to swallow.
University of Maryland
Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports
Total Distance from Autzen Stadium: 2,817 miles
Drive Time: 1 day, 16 hours
Estimated Flight Time: 6 hours, 30 minutes (1 stop)
Analysis: Going across the country to the D.C. area would be a fun excursion, but it might be smart to make it a few-day stay in order to get your moneys worth.
University of Rutgers
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Total Distance from Autzen Stadium: 2,898 miles
Drive Time: 1 day, 17 hours
Estimated Flight Time: 5 hours, 30 minutes
Analysis: Sorry, Rutgers. I don’t know that I will ever find my way out to your neck of the woods.
