Oregon’s path back into the College Football Playoff picture got a little clearer after its Week 7 win over Nebraska, even if the Ducks are still staring up at plenty of teams in the race.
After dropping their second game of the season, the Ducks shifted from thinking about a national title chase to simply trying to get into the 12-team playoff field. At 4-2, they’re now listed at +500 to make the CFP, which ranks 24th nationally.
That puts Oregon behind UCLA, even though the Bruins lost starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava. UCLA is sitting at 6-0 and owns +150 odds.
Boise State, which opened the season against Oregon, is also ahead at +170 because the top Group of Six team earns an automatic bid. Right now, the Broncos appear to have the edge in that race.
The Ducks are also trailing four other Big Ten teams: Ohio State at -900, Indiana at -500, Iowa at +300 and USC at +360. In a surprising twist, Group of Six program New Mexico is ahead of Oregon as well, coming in at +490.
Another team sitting above the Ducks is Will Stein-led Kentucky, which is 6-1 and has +210 odds to make the playoff.
Oregon was 28th in the odds last week, so the move up to 24th is at least a step forward. Still, the jump seems to owe as much to losses by teams around the country as it does to what Oregon did against Nebraska in Eugene.
The national title market is a much longer shot for the Ducks, with Oregon at +6000. But that number doesn’t really matter unless they can keep winning, run the table and put themselves back into position for the playoff. If they get there, everything starts over.
With six games left, Oregon still has room to make a push after dropping two of its first six.
In Other News...
Oregon Suddenly Faces A Big Evan Stewart Question
Evan Stewarts status has become another uneasy subplot for Oregon, which is already managing his return from injury after he missed the recent game. The wide receiver was booked into Springfield Municipal Jail on a charge of driving under the influence of intoxicants and released about an hour later, turning what should have been a football-focused week into a fresh off-field concern for the Ducks.
Springfield Police also moved quickly to shut down the noise around the incident, saying rumors of street racing involving Oregon players were unfounded and that Stewarts arrest was not tied to a separate police pursuit. For a team counting on Stewart as part of its offensive mix after his recovery, the bigger question now is less about what happened in Springfield and more about how Oregon handles the situation from here. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Exposed A Nebraska Problem That May Get Worse
Oregons defense left Nebraska searching for answers after holding the Huskers to 242 yards on 67 snaps, a performance that exposed how much work still remains for an offense trying to find any rhythm. Anthony Colandrea finished 18 of 33 for 164 yards and a touchdown while adding 38 rushing yards and a score on the ground, but the passing game rarely found easy openings and the run game never really got going.
The bigger concern is how many different parts of the offense looked stuck at once. Nebraskas primary backs managed just 58 yards on 18 carries, injuries took a toll on both the offensive line and the backfield, and wide receivers had trouble separating against Oregons coverage. The line gave up only one sack but allowed five pressures and was flagged four times, leaving a problem that could get a lot harder to solve if the protection and health issues linger. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Left Wondering After Two Late Replay Moments Swung Everything
Nebraska spent the final minutes of its loss to Oregon wrestling with two replay moments that ended up defining the finish. The Cornhuskers had a touchdown catch by Kwazi Gilmer upheld after review, with officials saying there was not enough clear evidence to overturn the call, and the Ducks kept hanging around until they finally grabbed their first lead with 28 seconds left.
Isaiah Mozee then became part of the late-game frustration when a potential Nebraska fumble was not reviewed, leaving the Huskers in possession and the sequence unresolved in real time. For Oregon, it was another close escape in a game decided by a handful of snaps and a couple of calls that Nebraska will be replaying for a long time. [Read more 🡒]