Oregon’s season has been messy, uneven and, at times, looked close to over. But with Week 10 here, ESPN’s Rece Davis is still leaving the door open for the Ducks.
The preseason No. 2 team in the country is 5-3 entering a trip to Columbus to face Ohio State, a far cry from the expectations that came with a roster loaded with returning talent and transfer help. Dante Moore was the headliner of that group as the preseason Heisman favorite, but his season changed when he took a nasty hit to the head in the USC game two contests later. He has been sidelined since and is likely done for the year.
Oregon’s start already raised questions. The Ducks opened with a 34-27 win over Boise State, then dropped a 39-31 decision to Oklahoma State, a team that won one game last season. Even with that uneven beginning, Davis believes the Ducks still have a route back into the Big Ten race.
“And one that we thought for sure was cooked, and you’re going to have to stay with me a little bit on this one, Oregon not dead yet,” Davis said on the Pat McAfee Show. “Now, great win against Northwestern, but listen to this, Pat, there’s a path.
It’s not a wide path, it’s not an easy one. But if they win out, it’s not really crazy that they could get into the Big Ten Championship game.
You get into the Big Ten Championship game, then they could win the conference.
“Really, what they need is for UCLA to keep winning, and then Oregon has a lot of advantages and potential tiebreakers should the Ducks be able to win out. So I don’t favor them to do it because they’ve been the epitome of inconsistency, but in this season they got that win against Northwestern Saturday and all of a sudden you look up and you go, really all they need is an Indiana and Illinois loss, and they’re in really good shape if they can win out.”
That path is narrow, but it exists. UCLA is the only undefeated team in the Big Ten, and Davis laid out the formula plainly: Oregon needs the Bruins to keep rolling, then needs wins the rest of the way and losses from both Indiana and Illinois to have a shot at the Big Ten title game.
The Ducks did give themselves a little life with a 34-26 win over Northwestern after firing offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer. Dylan Raiola has taken over at quarterback, and after struggling against UCLA, he responded with 336 passing yards and three touchdowns against the Wildcats.
Now comes the real test. Oregon heads to Ohio State this weekend, and if it can survive that one, the rest of the closing stretch is there: Michigan at home, Michigan State on the road and Washington at home. Beat the Buckeyes, and the conversation around Oregon changes fast.
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Now the bigger question is whether Oregon can turn that opening into something real. The Ducks still have to keep winning, and the next step comes against Ohio State, which makes the margin for error feel even thinner. Their climb has been helped by stronger play from key contributors and a little chaos elsewhere in the rankings, but the only thing that will settle the debate is what happens next. [Read more 🡒]