Dan Lanning got the kind of win that changes the conversation fast.
Oregon walked into Columbus on Saturday afternoon and knocked off Ohio State, with Lanning’s bold fake punt helping flip the game’s momentum. It was the Ducks’ biggest win of the season, and it came against an Ohio State team that entered the week ranked 11th in the AP Poll and 12th in the College Football Playoff rankings.
That matters for Oregon’s place in the national picture. The Ducks were sitting 23rd in the CFP rankings, but they were unranked in the AP Poll heading into the week. That should not last long.
Oregon had already made a small move in the AP conversation after beating Northwestern last weekend, but it still didn’t crack the Top 25. Instead, the Ducks were the second team in “others receiving votes” with 55 points, behind only Northwestern and just 44 points shy of Florida at No.
- With Northwestern losing to Iowa and Florida taking another loss, Oregon is at minimum back in the AP Top 25.
The bigger question is how high the Ducks climb after taking down Ohio State the way they did.
A handful of teams ahead of Oregon stumbled this weekend, which opens the door for a real jump. No.
1 Miami, No. 7 BYU, No.
8 Kentucky, No. 11 Ohio State, No.
12 Ole Miss, No. 15 LSU, No.
19 Missouri, and No. 25 Florida all lost.
That kind of shakeup should push plenty of movement through the rankings, even if Oregon doesn’t leap over everyone in front of it.
There are a few clear cases. Oregon should move ahead of LSU after the Tigers’ loss and third defeat, and the Ducks should also be placed ahead of Ohio State after beating the Buckeyes head-to-head.
Ole Miss was blown out by Georgia and now has three losses, so that should send the Rebels tumbling as well. Missouri played Texas close and could get some benefit from that, but the Tigers could also slip out of the Top 25 entirely.
The most likely spot for Oregon is No. 21, with Florida and Missouri dropping out of the Top 25. After those two spots open up, Ohio State and LSU should land behind the Ducks somewhere in the 20s.
The tricky part is that Oregon started from so far back. With only 55 points last week, the Ducks don’t have much of a cushion in the AP vote count, so just how far they rise will depend on how voters value this win over this version of Ohio State.
Either way, the movement is coming. And after Saturday, Oregon is right in the middle of it.
In Other News...
Oregons Huge Win Came With One Serious Concern For Duck Fans
Oregons 41-28 road win over Ohio State was the kind of statement victory that can reshape a season, and the Ducks made it look even more commanding by ripping off 38 straight points during the game. For a program that went into one of the toughest environments in the sport and came away with a huge result, it was the sort of performance that had Duck fans thinking big picture almost immediately.
Teitum Tuiotis late-game injury, though, put a jolt into the celebration. The edge rusher was taken to the locker room with his left knee heavily wrapped, and Dan Lanning did not offer a definitive update afterward, only saying he was hopeful for good news. After a win that carried so much weight, Oregon now has at least one uneasy question hanging over it. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Day Admits Oregon Delivered A Statement Ohio State Never Saw Coming
Ohio States home loss to Oregon landed with the kind of force that tends to linger, especially with the Ducks ripping off 38 straight points in a game that quickly slipped out of control. For Ryan Day, the surprise was as much about how it unfolded as the final result, with the Buckeyes left to sort through a performance that never found much footing once Oregon started piling on.
Day pointed to the need to take a hard look at everything, from a pivotal fake punt to the defenses inability to slow the Ducks surge. Freshman quarterback Luke Fahey also had a difficult night, and Day said the Buckeyes have to do a better job of supporting him going forward, a reminder that the fallout from this one goes beyond a single loss. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Just Made A Statement Ohio State Fans Wont Forget
Oregon walked into Columbus and turned a tense early hole into a runaway, beating Ohio State 41-28 after ripping off 38 straight points. Dan Lannings team kept its foot on the gas with bold calls, including a fake punt that helped swing momentum and a late gamble before halftime that fed into the Ducks control of the game. By the end, Oregon had the kind of road win that travels well, the sort that changes how a team is viewed beyond its own locker room.
Ohio State never found a clean answer after the opening stretch, and the offense largely stalled once the first quarter passed, with Luke Fahey unable to steady things. Oregon, meanwhile, kept piling on behind backup quarterback Dylan Raiola, who helped drive the Ducks to 395 yards and five touchdowns in the latter part of the game. For a program trying to make a national statement, this was the kind of performance that leaves a mark, even if the full ripple effect is still to come. [Read more 🡒]