Autzen Stadium will crank up the decibel levels for this top 10 conference showdown. Oregon football hosts Indiana with early Big Ten title race implications in play.
The Hoosiers will hear a louder venue than their last west coast trip at Pasadena. Sounds are expected to hit deafening levels as Fernando Mendoza and company take the field.
But the crowd isn't the Oregon x-factor here. Even the defense isn't the one earning that label in facing the high profile College Football Transfer Portal addition.
One underrated Ducks weapon rises to an important role ahead of Saturday.
Oregon X-factor averages 13 yards a catch
Ducks quarterback Dante Moore brings a plethora of weapons against the nation's No. 5 overall defense. Dakorien Moore and Gary Bryant Jr. will earn their targets from Moore's arm.
But Kenyon Sadiq enters the picture as Oregon's X-factor.
He's replacing second round selection Terrence Ferguson at tight end for the nation's No. 3 team. But the 6-foot-3 Sadiq stepped up big the last time he received the Saturday primetime stage.
Sadiq grabbed a season-best six catches for 49 yards in keeping the offense flowing in front of Penn State's “White Out.” He caught three straight seven-yard receptions before sneaking past the Nittany Lions on his 23-yard catch during the third quarter.
This is my favorite throw from Oregon QB Dante Moore against Penn State. Scramble drill working with a timer as he’s working towards the sideline, fires across body and puts it on the money for Kenyon Sadiq pic.twitter.com/Bp2Whq9j5Q
— Michael (@MGrecoSports) October 2, 2025
Sadiq turned a potential Moore sack into the long gain. He tacked on one more seven-yard catch on that same drive before Oregon scored on a Dierre Hill Jr. touchdown catch.
Kenyon Sadiq can open Oregon offense vs. Indiana
Both head coaches Curt Cignetti of Indiana and Dan Lanning of Oregon know Moore is getting the ball. Same with Bryant Jr. on the side of the Ducks. Cignetti and IU defensive coordinator Bryant Haines likely envision safeties Amare Ferrell and Louis Moore keeping both WRs in front of them, not blowing past them on routes.
Sadiq, however, is one more to account for who can pose matchup problems.
Indiana's defensive back unit or even linebackers don't offer much in matching Sadiq's size. Ducks offensive coordinator Will Stein can attack the middle to test the ball-hawking safeties — and see if they can immediately wrap up the 245-pounder.
Sadiq is skillful at hauling down contested grabs. But he's athletic enough to create separation off his reported 4.55 speed in the 40-yard dash. Stein plugs Sadiq in multiple spots outside of the line of scrimmage to create mismatches.
Sadiq's field awareness rises as a must here too for Oregon. His biggest catch against Penn State came off that trait in finding an opening in the secondary during the breakdown in protection.
The TE finds a way to raise his level of play in games of high magnitude (see the 2024 Big Ten title game against the Nittany Lions). Oregon, Moore and Lanning needs that version of Sadiq to ruin No. 7 Indiana's upset attempt.
