Few college football mascots represent their team better than The Oregon Duck. That much was made clear on the Week 7 edition of College GameDay, with the ESPN crew in Eugene for the massive clash between Oregon and Indiana, during which the iconic mascot showed up to set on a horse.

Despite the show being filmed before sunrise locally, thousands of fans were in attendance and needed no encouragement to keep their spirits up. However, those potentially low on energy levels received a substantial adrenaline boost when The Duck came galloping onto the field on a horse.

The Duck surprised everyone, including the College GameDay hosts, particularly Kirk Herbstreit, who could not stop saying, “Look at this crazy Duck!”

The Duck has been a staple of Oregon football for years, and it has continued elevating its presence in 2025. The mascot went viral earlier in the year for losing his head on the field, but quickly returned to hyping up fans and going viral by keeping up with social media trends.

With Oregon and Indiana featured on CBS during the second slate, expect ‘The Duck' to be a big part of the broadcast.

‘The Duck' hypes up crowd for Oregon-Indiana

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Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning walks the field before the game as the Oregon Ducks host the Oregon State Beavers Sept. 20, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.
Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It has been two weeks since Oregon last took the field, which is perhaps why The Duck had a lot of pent-up energy. Dan Lanning's Big Ten-leading team enters the massive Indiana matchup off a bye, still soaking in its recent road victory over Penn State on Sept. 27.

As crucial as the win over Penn State was, Oregon is still somewhat on the proving grounds. The Nittany Lions have since lost to UCLA, causing them to drop from the AP poll, which gives the Ducks zero wins over any team currently in the top 25.

Indiana has yet to face a team as highly ranked as Oregon, but the Hoosiers do have a dominant 63-10 win over No. 17 Illinois. Curt Cignetti's team is also coming off a bye, last sneaking past Iowa to improve to 5-0.

Although Indiana is forced to travel across the country, the game does not have a prime-time kickoff, which eases some of the concerns. Regardless, Oregon's victory over Penn State still carries more weight in the odds market, where it is favored by a touchdown.