The win over Ohio State changed everything for Oregon.
What looked like a long shot a week ago is now very much back on the table after the Ducks went into Columbus and knocked off the Buckeyes. The College Football Playoff race is still messy, the Big Ten race is still wide open, and Oregon’s name belongs in the conversation again.
The clearest route is still the simplest one: win the Big Ten. But if that door stays shut, an at-large bid is still in play.
For Oregon, the first order of business is obvious. The Ducks have to win their final three regular-season games.
Another loss ends the discussion. Michigan comes first, and the source material makes clear that offense has been a mess this season, to the point that the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the country was fired.
Michigan State just picked up its first Big Ten win over Michigan, but Pat Fitzgerald’s team is described as far from a serious threat. Then comes Washington, and Jedd Fisch’s group is only 2-4 in league play, with the possibility it could already be looking ahead to the offseason by then.
The biggest obstacle in the Big Ten picture is Indiana. At 5-1, the Hoosiers are the team Oregon needs to slip at least once over their final three games.
USC could be the toughest test left on Indiana’s schedule, while the next two weeks against Washington and Purdue are presented as much easier. If Indiana runs the table, the Hoosiers would reach the Big Ten Championship Game and close off one path for Oregon.
There’s also the two-loss cluster to sort through, and Illinois matters there because the Ducks lost the head-to-head tiebreaker. Bret Bielema’s team has UCLA, Iowa, and Northwestern coming up, and the road trip to UCLA is the one that stands out as the most dangerous.
Wisconsin is the other tricky piece. The Badgers did not play Oregon head-to-head, and the tiebreaker picture is complicated because both teams share wins over USC and losses to UCLA, with not many other common opponents to separate them.
Luke Fickell’s team has Maryland, Purdue, and Minnesota left, and one more loss would wipe away the concern. If they stay clean, though, they could become a major factor.
If Oregon doesn’t get into the Big Ten title game, the at-large route becomes the fallback. The Ducks opened at No. 23 in the first College Football Playoff rankings, but the Ohio State win should push them into the mid-teens. They may still need some help from upsets elsewhere, though that path is harder to map out because of the weekly ranking updates.
Dan Lanning’s team has forced its way back into the picture. Now the job is to keep stacking wins and avoid giving the committee a reason to look elsewhere. If Oregon finishes 9-3, it will almost certainly still be in the mix when Selection Sunday arrives.
In Other News...
Oregon Left Its Biggest Win With Serious Questions Before Michigan
Oregons win over Ohio State gave the Ducks a signature result, but it also left behind a few issues that are hard to ignore heading into Michigan week. Edge rusher Teitum Tuioti went down during the game, and his status is still unclear, adding another layer of concern to a defense that will need to be sharp again in a hurry.
There were other warning signs in the victory, too. Safety Koi Perich had a rough outing that drew public criticism, and the rushing attack never really found its rhythm, averaging under two yards per carry outside of one touchdown run. The Ducks and their coaching staff know the performance was enough to win, but not enough to feel settled about what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Lannings Ohio State Statement Just Changed Oregons Week
Oregons football win over Ohio State did more than just reshape the national conversation, it gave Dan Lannings program a fresh jolt at exactly the right time. After the Ducks reentered the AP Top 25 at No. 18, the ripple effects of that performance are still being felt around Eugene, where the football teams rise is landing alongside a strong start for the mens and womens basketball teams, both of whom opened 2-0.
The broader week has also carried some personnel news that matters for the long haul. Tyrone Riley IV is dealing with a hand injury that will be re-evaluated in four weeks, while Kelly Graves added another major piece to the future by landing a commitment from five-star recruit DeAndra Minor. For Oregon, it has been the kind of stretch that reminds everyone how quickly momentum can spread across a program when one headline win changes the tone. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Just Unleashed Its Wildest Brand Flex Yet
Oregons latest off-field move leans all the way into the programs flair for spectacle, with a new Godzilla vs. Duck merchandise line now out in the wild. The collection pairs The Oregon Duck with Godzilla on apparel and comes from an agreement between Toho International, Inc. and the Ducks NIL group, Division Street, giving the school another high-profile crossover that fits its long-running knack for turning branding into an event.
The timing makes the whole thing feel even more on-brand, with Oregon set for a 2026 preseason trip to Japan and the promotion also bringing back the inflatable Duck used in previous events. Fans can already find the collection online and at The Duck Store, and for a program that has never been shy about making a statement, this one looks built to travel well beyond Eugene. [Read more 🡒]