Is Oregon going to the Big Ten? Ducks fans react to cryptic post on college football expansion

Oregon fans went into a frenzy on Tuesday after Ohio State's famed mascot, Brutus the Buckeye, posted a cryptic image on Instagram. The picture showed Brutus with his arm around Oregon's mascot, The Duck, and captioned it, "BIG things coming."

This immediately sparked rumors of Oregon departing the Pac-12 in favor of the Big Ten. The picture was taken at the Ducks' home Autzen Stadium, with both mascots taking a look at the scoreboard. It is, however, unknown when the photo was clicked.

The Ducks have, over the past month, been one of the Pac-12 teams rumored to be considering moving to the Big Ten for a potential realignment.

Let's take a look at some of the online reactions from fans:

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Reports suggest Oregon won't join Big Ten anytime soon

According to Washington D.C.-based media consultant Jim Williams, the Big Ten has no current plans for expansion until USC and UCLA are fully integrated into the conference. This allows the conference ample time to assess the advantages of its expansion.

The Big Ten is also thought to be in favor of adding ACC's Notre Dame to its fold rather than a Pac-12 team. The conference is believed to be closely following the media deal situation between the Fighting Irish and its long-term partner NBC.

This practically shuts the door on a couple of teams, at least for the time being. It also brings some stability to the Pac-12 as the conference has struggled to secure a new media deal after months of continuous negotiations.

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Possibility of a home-and-home series

One thing the picture likely indicates is that Ohio State and Oregon plan to schedule a home-and-home series earlier than anticipated. The cryptic post could be a good way to signal the possibility to fans and the college football world.

A series is already set for the two teams to meet in both 2032 and 2033. However, Brutus the Buckeye's post could signal there is a possibility that they might kick things off earlier than those scheduled dates. Will Ohio State make a trip to Eugene earlier than expected? Time will tell.

Oregon had its last encounter with Ohio State in Columbus during the 2021 college football season, where the Ducks won 35-25. The Ducks were originally slated to host the Buckeyes in 2020, but unfortunately, the game had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.