“Big games create big brands,” once said Kirk Herbstreit, as Oregon vs. Indiana stole the show. Coming off a dominant win against Penn State, Dan Lanning’s team looked ready for their conference game, and when two undefeated teams collide, the atmosphere becomes more intense than ever. But despite the 30-20, Oregon got most of the audience through 7 weeks, surpassing USC’s viewership. It looks like, one way or the other, Oregon loves to win.

No doubt that losing to Indiana cost Oregon significantly as they fell in the rankings. They plummeted from No. 3 to No. 8 after Week 7, their first regular-season loss since 2023. Despite all the setbacks, Oregon attracted a large number of viewers through 7 weeks, which puts them at the No. 1 spot.

That’s right, Super West Spots hits X with the list of total reported 2025 TV viewers, and Dan Lanning’s team holds the top spot for the West Coast college with 19.43 million viewers. Whereas USC sits at no. 3 with 12.52 million viewers. Well, these numbers make sense.

In Week 5 of the season, when Oregon went up against Penn State, the game was broadcast on NBC and Peacock and went up to 8.5 million viewers, as per Nielsen Big Data. It is also among this season’s most-watched college football games. Colorado ranks second with 16.67 million viewers, having downed Iowa 24-17. On the other side of the rankings, UNLV scored the lowest with 74k viewers.

Look, the viewership makes sense, as Dan Lanning did all in his power to grab the audience’s attention. He took off his shirt to hype the crowd, standing on a chair next to Pat McAfee, who did the same. On top of it, McAfee even did his famous field goal challenge, putting up a prize amount from $300,000 to $1 million. But it looks like Oregon had no luck, as the student who kicked the ball missed it on both attempts, which even raised eyebrows online. But with all of that, Oregon’s offense took a significant hit last week.

Indiana held them to just 276 yards and even troubled Dante Moore throughout the game. He was sacked six times and completed just 21 of 34 passes, his completion rate of 61.8% being his lowest of the season. Their rushing game was nothing less than a disaster, as Indiana held them to 81 rushing yards. Dan Lanning and his team need to work on defending against Rutgers’ offense. With that, Dan Lanning’s team takes another hit at OL.

Dan Lanning gets real about Kyler Kasper

Notably, Oregon took another major hit as its wide receiver, Kyler Kasper, is out for the entire season after undergoing foot surgery. As Dan Lanning confirms it ahead of the Rutgers game, this marks his second straight year out of the field. “Had an injury to his foot,” Lanning said. “Ended up having surgery on that. So, he won’t be available for us, unfortunately.” Kasper got into the team with a lot of hype with his four-star status and a 159th rank by On3; even scouts praised him as a “contested catch specialist.”

But repeated injuries made his season a disaster. This came at the worst possible time, as Oregon’s passing yards average of 251.3 ranks 52nd in the nation. Despite that, Kasper played just four games after his mid-season injury cut short his progress, recording two catches for 51 yards and two receiving touchdowns. His size and ball skills showed his potential, and the Ducks miss him.

Now, Dan Lanning has to rely on other wideouts with him out of the team. Dakorien Moore now leads the pack with 23 receptions for 335 yards, and Gary Bryant Jr. stands out as a red zone threat with 4 TDs and 20 receptions.

It’s yet to be seen how Malik Benson and Kenyon Sadiq will step up to fill the gap. Losing Kasper is a major blow to their offensive rhythm. Let’s wait and see how they bounce back from their loss against Indiana. If they do, expect the viewership numbers to increase.