After Oregon’s comeback win over Northwestern, the Ducks are suddenly back in the conversation - and maybe back in the College Football Playoff picture, too.
That 34-26 victory was enough to push Oregon back into the rankings at No. 23 on Tuesday, a jolt that followed a stretch where the season looked close to slipping away. The path ahead is still steep, starting with No.
12 Ohio State on Saturday in Columbus. But the committee’s move made one thing clear: Oregon is not done yet.
There’s still a version of this season where the Ducks keep climbing. If they beat the Buckeyes, they could still reach the Big Ten Championship Game or, with enough help and four straight wins, even sneak into the at-large conversation for the 12-team College Football Playoff. That’s a real lane, even if it’s an awfully narrow one.
Of course, “could” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.
Oregon has to go win in The Horseshoe first, and that’s no small task. The one wrinkle that keeps the door from slamming shut is that both teams are dealing with the absence of their top quarterback. Ohio State is also coming off a disastrous showing at USC, a performance so rough it made Senate Republicans feel like they had a good week.
That’s been the strange truth of Oregon’s season: the Ducks themselves haven’t exactly looked like a team worthy of postseason belief, but the sport around them has been chaotic enough to keep them alive. Ohio State, Texas, Alabama, LSU and USC all have multiple losses, and there will almost certainly be three-loss teams in the 12-team CFP.
So yes, Oregon is flawed. Deeply flawed.
Outside of a couple of strong quarters at USC, the Ducks have rarely looked like a team that belongs in the postseason picture. But their résumé has some substance.
They have three wins over teams that either are or have been ranked, and among their three losses, the one at Illinois is the only one that really stings.
Still, buying back in depends on how much disappointment you’re willing to absorb.
It’s easy to look at this team and see a bad bet. A squad that lost to Illinois two weeks ago now has to go win on the road in one of the sport’s toughest environments. A secondary that gave up 146 yards to Northwestern receiver Griffin Wilde now has to deal with Jeremiah Smith, the Heisman Trophy favorite.
And yet that’s the trap sports sets every week. It invites the irrational.
It rewards the hopeful. It keeps people leaning in even after they’ve sworn they’re out.
A week ago, Oregon looked finished. Dante Moore was ruled out, offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer was thrown out, and the expectation was that Northwestern would roll.
Then Dylan Raiola put together his first clean and complete game of an uneven season. Brandon Smith emerged as a star at running back.
Ohio State fell apart at USC. Suddenly, the Ducks had life again.
That’s how low the bar is now. Beating the defending champions of the GameAbove Sports Bowl was enough to revive the whole discussion.
Raiola was better against Northwestern, but he was still uneven and vulnerable. The receivers remain unsettled, and now top running back Jordon Davison is apparently injured. The defense, which had kept Oregon afloat while the offense wandered, showed cracks by allowing 456 yards to Northwestern.
Even so, the Ducks avoided the collapse that seemed possible when they trailed 20-6 late in the first half. They steadied themselves, fought back, and bought themselves another week of relevance.
Just when you thought they were out…
In Other News...
USC Just Got Its First CFP Reality Check
The first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2026 season arrived with the kind of early-season jolt that always gets the sport talking, and Miami came out as the No. 1 seed in the committees initial bracket. The new 12-team format again sets up first-round byes for the top four teams, while the opening-round games are slated for campus sites, giving the rankings immediate weight even before the playoff picture fully settles.
For Oregon, the bigger takeaway is that the road to the bracket is already taking shape in a format that leaves little room for drift. The committee will update its rankings every week through the regular season, and those releases will keep sharpening the stakes for teams trying to land in the top four or simply stay in the hunt for a home game and a spot in the field. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Found An Unexpected Answer Up Front At The Perfect Time
When Oregon needed stability up front, Tommy Tofi ended up being the unexpected answer. The freshman offensive lineman has started the last two games at left guard, and in the process became the first freshman to start a regular season game on the offensive line under Dan Lanning. It is a notable step for a young player who has earned trust through steady work, development and the kind of day-to-day growth that usually happens out of the spotlight.
Tofis emergence has also shown up in the details that matter most to an offensive line. He had a key block on a touchdown run against Northwestern, a small but telling sign that he is already helping Oregon function more cleanly in the run game. For a Ducks front that is always under scrutiny, having a rookie settle in this quickly changes the conversation up front, even if the bigger test for him is still ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Suddenly Has A Backfield Question Before Ohio State
Oregons backfield took an unexpected hit in the win over Northwestern when Jordon Davison went down with a leg injury in the first quarter and never came back after halftime. With the Ducks already in the middle of a physical matchup, the loss forced true freshman Brandon Smith into a bigger role, and he responded by leading the team with 82 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Now the focus shifts to how Oregon handles the week leading into Ohio State, where depth at running back suddenly matters a lot more. Dan Lanning pointed to the physical nature of the game and said Davisons status will be updated in the upcoming injury report, leaving the Ducks with at least one key lineup question to sort out before a much bigger test arrives. [Read more 🡒]