The start of the season came with a ton of excitement for the Oregon Ducks, with hopes of winning the National Championship. Those hopes were validated by the experts and analysts, with the Ducks ranked as the No. 2 team in both the Coaches Poll and the AP Poll. The results from the first two games of the season haven't come close to matching the lofty preseason expectations.
Oregon barely escaped with a win over Boise State, and the voters instantly showed their concerns with the Ducks, dropping them from No. 2 to No. 6 in the post Week 1 AP Poll. On Saturday Afternoon, Oregon looked far from the No. 6 team in the country, losing to Oklahoma State. The Ducks' loss made it a massive question of whether this team belonged in the Top 25 or not.
Week 2 AP Top 25 Poll drops Oregon from 6th to 21st
On Sunday, the Associated Press unveiled its latest AP Top 25 poll, and to no one's surprise, the Oregon Ducks plummeted after an embarrassing loss to Oklahoma State. The AP voters did keep Oregon in the Top 25, but the Ducks fell all the way down to 21st from 6th.
BREAKING: College Football AP Poll🚨https://t.co/VY7Xt0iRq1 pic.twitter.com/5WNv1rtd72
— On3 (@On3) September 13, 2026
The drop comes as no surprise, as the Ducks haven't come close to meeting the expectations placed on this team. Being ranked 21st is more fitting, as this team certainly has championship-level talent on paper but hasn't come close to performing at that level. The AP quite frankly, would've been justified in dropping Oregon out of the Top 25, but there's clearly still a belief in what this team has.
From now on, Oregon's ranking doesn't matter; the only thing that matters is stacking wins week over week to try and climb back into the College Football Playoff race. The Ducks have one more game to try and fix some of these issues before Big Ten play begins.
If Oregon is truly a team capable of pushing for a National Championship and making the CFP, Big Ten play will give them every chance to prove it. The Ducks have massive games against No. 12 USC, UCLA, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 19 Michigan, and Washington to try to prove that they belong in the conversation.
It's sink-or-swim time for the Oregon Ducks, as there's very little wiggle room for this team the rest of the way. Based on the last two seasons, teams that are 9-3 or worse don't make the Playoff, meaning the next loss the Ducks take will put them on the brink.
The Ducks have plenty of mistakes to clean up, and now that the hype is gone, maybe Dan Lanning can get everyone to lock in and try to save the season, as this group is far too talented to let the season slip away.
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