Oregon’s season has already felt like a survival story, and now the Ducks get a chance to turn that into something bigger.
After starting the year No. 2 in the AP poll, Oregon has been through plenty. The Ducks escaped Boise State, then got ambushed by Oklahoma State in a loss that came with ugly signs that the offense - especially quarterback Dante Moore - was too easy to read because of certain tells.
Moore then suffered a season-ending head injury on a brutal hit from a USC defender in Oregon’s win over the Trojans. Since then, the Ducks have been riding the Dylan Raiola roller coaster, with frustrating lows against UCLA and Illinois and more encouraging highs against Nebraska and Northwestern.
That latest swing - a 34-26 comeback win after trailing 20-6 against then-No. 20 Northwestern - has given Oregon something it did not have not long ago: a real path, however narrow, to keep chasing both the Big Ten title game and the College Football Playoff.
And the next stop on that path is Ohio State.
The Buckeyes are the first team on Oregon’s revenge list after the two sides met in the 2025 Rose Bowl, where Ohio State blew the Ducks out in a game that was essentially finished by halftime. Oregon coach Dan Lanning later said he lost sleep over that loss, and he would surely welcome the chance to land a blow that would also dent the Buckeyes’ CFP hopes. Those hopes have already taken a hit after the season-ending injury to Julian Sayin.
There’s more than revenge at stake, though. Oregon’s Week 10 trip to face Ohio State gives the Ducks a strange but real playoff opening.
The Ducks are still alive in the Big Ten title race and the CFP, and their résumé, while imperfect, has some weight to it. They have a win over Boise State, who is currently the Group of 6 leader, plus Top 25 wins over USC and Northwestern.
A victory over Ohio State would make that case look even better, even with the Buckeyes dealing with their own shaky quarterback situation.
Then there’s the Big Ten chaos factor.
A wild chain of results could still push Oregon into the conference title game and, with it, the CFP auto-bid. In that scenario, Oregon would win its final four games, USC would win out and beat Indiana, UCLA would beat Illinois, and Iowa would lose to Northwestern.
That would leave Oregon in a four-way tie for second in the Big Ten with Indiana, Ohio State and USC. The Ducks would win the tiebreaker because of head-to-head wins over USC and Ohio State and their record against common opponents, since Oregon would have beaten USC while Indiana would have lost to the Trojans.
Oregon would then face UCLA in the Big Ten title game, which would also be a rematch of their October meeting.
It is a long shot. Oregon’s defense has underachieved, the offense was so uneven that Drew Mehringer was fired, and even after beating Northwestern the Ducks still have just a 4.2% chance to make the CFP.
Still, the door is open.
And if Oregon is going to walk through it, the Ducks have to do it in Columbus first. Ohio State looked vulnerable in a recent stretch, including a game against USC that stood in contrast to how hapless the Trojans looked offensively a week later against Wisconsin. That at least gives Oregon a better shot than it had a few weeks ago.
So when the Ducks line up against Ohio State, they’ll be chasing more than payback. They’ll be trying to stay alive in a season that keeps handing them one improbable chance after another.
In Other News...
Ohio State Still Has Two Big Lineup Questions Before Oregon
Ohio State left the USC game with two key injury questions hanging over its week of preparation, and both sit in the trenches where the Buckeyes can least afford uncertainty. Defensive tackle Eddrick Houston and left tackle Ian Moore were hurt in the win, and Ryan Days update offered some relief on one front while leaving the other very much open as the No. 1 concern shifts toward Oregon.
Houston is expected back soon enough to give Ohio State some stability inside, but Moores availability is still tied to how his recovery goes in the days ahead. With Oregon next on the schedule, the Buckeyes are balancing health, lineup planning and the usual late-week coaching decisions, all while trying to keep the focus on a game that could demand its best five up front from the opening snap. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Day Defends A Call Ohio State Fans Still Cant Trust
Ryan Days late-game decisions have become a talking point around Ohio State after a pair of losses put his fourth-quarter judgment under the microscope. The first came against Texas, when Day later said he regretted not letting the Longhorns score in order to preserve more time for a possible comeback. The second arrived against USC, when Ohio State went for two late and came up empty, adding another layer to a season already shaped by what-ifs.
Day has defended the USC choice as one rooted in analytics and internal discussion, but it is the kind of call Buckeyes fans are unlikely to trust until it works in a big moment. The hesitation is understandable, too, given Ohio States recent history on two-point tries, with the program having missed its last eight attempts dating back to 2017. [Read more 🡒]
Jeremiah Smith Already Has Oregon Sounding Concerned About The Rematch
Oregons 32-31 win over Ohio State in 2024 is still fresh enough to shape the conversation around the rematch, and it has plenty to do with Jeremiah Smith. The Buckeyes receiver made enough of an impression in the first meeting that Ducks coach Dan Lanning has already been talking about him, a reminder that Ohio States passing game is once again going to be one of the biggest storylines when these teams line up again.
Ohio State is treating the game like more than just another date on the schedule, too, with the program designating it as its Scarlet the Shoe event as it looks to keep its home winning streak rolling. For a matchup that already carries the weight of last years one-point finish, Smiths presence only adds another layer to what should be one of the most closely watched games on the Buckeyes calendar. [Read more 🡒]