In the spring the NCAA amended college football's redshirt rule, allowing players to appear in as many as four games without losing a season of their eligibility. At Oregon, that rule could be used liberally on Sept. 8, when the Ducks host Portland State in an 11 a.m. kickoff at Autzen Stadium.
Portland State is coming off a 2017 season that nearly began with a stunning victory yet ended without a single win. The Vikings have implemented changes after that 0-11 record, such as replacing a not-insignificant chunk of coach Bruce Barnum’s staff, but if their performance in 2018 is anything like 2017 -- and voters who picked PSU last in the Big Sky Conference preseason poll believe it will be -- then it's safe to expect the Ducks to use this game as an opportunity to play a lot of their younger, redshirting players.