Week 1 only just wrapped, but the AP poll wasted no time handing out some head-scratching movement for Week 2. A few teams that actually did their jobs ended up getting nudged the wrong way, while others got a bump that doesn’t look especially convincing.
Oregon may have the strangest result of the bunch. The Ducks handled a tough Boise team, now No. 26, yet still slid from No. 2 to No.
- Notre Dame was the only team to jump Oregon that had faced anything resembling real resistance, and even that didn’t fully explain the drop.
It’s the kind of ranking that feels like it could age badly fast. Boise is one of the few Group of 5 teams with legitimate College Football Playoff hopes, so by season’s end this result might look a lot less questionable.
Or it might already look that way.
Texas A&M also took an odd hit. The Aggies beat Missouri State 50-0 and still fell two spots.
One of those drops came because LSU moved up, though even that comparison gets murky when Clemson’s own result against Missouri State enters the conversation. The other slot?
Alabama beat East Carolina 48-10 and climbed a spot. Oklahoma beat UTEP 51-0 and dropped only one.
Against that backdrop, Texas A&M’s slide feels hard to justify.
Washington got treated similarly. In its annual rivalry game with Washington, the Huskies won 24-10, never trailed, and came away with a solid victory over one of Week 1’s better opponents.
That still wasn’t enough to keep them steady, as they fell two spots while Penn State moved up after beating Marshall 45-0 and Tennessee climbed after beating Furman 56-9. On the evidence from opening weekend, Washington looked like it had more to show than either of those teams.
And then there’s Boise State itself, the team that nearly pulled the weekend’s biggest upset and still didn’t crack the Top 25. The Broncos are hardly an unknown quantity; they’ve been perennial CFP contenders, and this game carried a familiar feel to Oregon’s 2024 Week 2 battle with Boise, when Oregon finished No. 1 and Boise ended up in the CFP.
The AP poll already includes Louisville, which lost a one-score game to Ole Miss, ranked well below Oregon, and Virginia, which didn’t even play in Week 1. Given that setup, it’s fair to ask whether Boise should have made the climb.
In Other News...
Oregons Boise State Win Just Took On A Different Look
Oregons narrow escape against Boise State looked a little different once the first week of the season was fully digested. The Ducks still sit comfortably inside the top 10 in ESPNs Football Power Index at No. 8 with a 22.7 rating, but their season-opening win came with a smaller bump than they probably wanted after being pushed harder than expected.
The matchup also looks more workable now from Oregons side, with Oklahoma State down at No. 72 in the FPI after a loss to Tulsa and a -1.6 rating. The Cowboys are still sorting through a roster with several new faces, including quarterback Drew Mestemaker, and they also took a hit up front with starting left tackle Jacob Sexton out for the rest of the season, which only adds to the sense that this Week 2 game has changed shape since it was first circled. [Read more 🡒]
Oregons New Uniform Reveal Taps Into What Makes This Program Different
The newest Oregon uniform reveal leaned into the programs long habit of treating game day as a showcase as much as a contest, with the Ducks unveiling a combination inspired by their 2008 Mighty Oregon and Gang Green looks before facing Oklahoma State. Running back Jordon Davison modeled the set, which nods to past Ducks players such as Jeremiah Johnson while drawing on the schools well-known history of pushing the edge with its on-field style.
Oregons latest look is another product of the collaborative process that has long defined these reveals, with Nike, designers and team personnel all part of the mix. Fans are being asked to wear green to the game as part of the theme, adding another layer to an atmosphere the Ducks have helped make part of their brand, even as each new uniform drop keeps one familiar question hanging in the air about where the next idea will come from. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Lannings Freshman O-Line Message Says A Lot About Oregons Priorities
Freshmen offensive linemen Immanuel Iheanacho and Tommy Tofi are still in the early stages of the climb at Oregon, and Dan Lanning made it clear after the opener against Boise State that the Ducks are not handing out jobs based on reputation alone. Oregon leaned on a rotation of six to eight linemen in that game, with the more experienced players getting the nod to start, a sign that the staff is comfortable letting the front sort itself out while the newcomers get their footing.
For a program that has made roster depth and development part of its identity, the message to the two freshmen was as much about process as it was about patience. Lanning pointed to effort and learning the system as the key steps before either player can expect consistent snaps, which says plenty about how Oregon plans to handle the offensive line this fall. The talent is there, but the Ducks are making it clear that trust in the trenches has to be earned. [Read more 🡒]