Saturday Night presented a golden opportunity for the Oregon Ducks as well as the USC Trojans. A win for Dan Lanning's group would help get the team back on track after the loss to Oklahoma State, while the game gave Lincoln Riley a chance to prove this team was a contender. Dan Lanning outcoached Riley, and his players secured victory, but it was far from a normal night.
The entire game took a somber turn when Dante Moore was knocked out of the game on a disgusting hit from USC's Desman Stephens II. Despite the loss of the team's leader, Oregon knocked off the No. 12 ranked team in the country with their backup quarterback, proving this team still has what it takes to contend for the National Championship.
How high will Oregon rise in the AP Poll after knocking off USC
After entering the season as the No. 2-ranked team in the AP Poll, Oregon tumbled down the rankings with the escape against Boise State and the loss to Oklahoma State. After the beatdown of Portland State, Oregon entered this weekend ranked 20th, but that should quickly change. If Oregon was going to reach its goals, the low 20's had to be the lowest they ranked this season.
On Saturday, Oregon should, at minimum, surpass 6 teams in the rankings thanks to a wild Saturday. The Ducks beat 12th ranked USC, 13th ranked Penn State was shocked by Wisconsin, 14th ranked Tennessee struggled in a loss to Texas, 16th ranked Louisville was stunned by Wake Forest, 18th ranked Michigan fell to Iowa, and 19th ranked Missouri lost to Mississippi State.
Where things may get tricky is with two teams that were ranked below the Ducks coming into the weekend. Florida sent a massive statement, scoring 50+ in a win over No. 4 Ole Miss, which should launch the Gators up from 21st in the AP Poll. No. 24 Mississippi State beat 19th ranked Missouri, and Kamario Taylor is only going to continue to win people over.
The likely landing spot for Oregon would be 14th in the AP Poll if the top 11 hung around in a new order while Florida and Iowa join that top 13 group. Oregon has a loss, but the win over USC is better than anything Utah has on its resume at this point in the season.
The interesting thing moving forward for the Ducks will be if Oklahoma State and Boise State continue to make the two non-conference games look better for Oregon. Oklahoma State knocked off a West Virginia team that had a ton of hype, while Boise State continues to look like the best non-Power 4 team.
The AP Poll will be released at 11:00 AM PT, and it should only add to the fun from this weekend's win over USC.
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