Dan Lanning coached one of the best games of his young career on Saturday Afternoon, taking the Oregon Ducks into Columbus and knocking off the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Ducks sent an absolute statement, sparked by Lanning's bold fake punt decision that shifted the tide of the game. The win is the Ducks' biggest of the year, as Ohio State entered the week ranked 11th in the AP Poll and 12th in the College Football Playoff rankings, which means a ton this time of year.
Given some of the chaos around the country and the way that the Big Ten has played out, Oregon is very much still alive in the race for the College Football Playoff. While the Ducks were ranked 23rd in the CFP rankings, the Ducks were unranked coming into the week in the AP Poll, which should quickly change.
Predicting where Oregon lands in the Week 10 AP Poll
After picking up a Top 25 win over Northwestern last weekend, Oregon didn't return to the Top 25 of the AP Poll, but the Ducks were the second team in "others receiving votes" with 55 points, trailing only Northwestern and just 44 points off Florida in the 25th spot. Given that the Wildcats lost to Iowa, and that 25th ranked Florida suffered another loss, at minimum, the Ducks will be back in the AP Poll Top 25.
Where Oregon's fate will then be determined is based on how much of a boost the Ducks get for the way that they handled Ohio State. This weekend, 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, which should bring a ton of changes to the group ahead of the Ducks, even if they don't jump every team.
Based on the way that LSU lost, and the fact that they now have 3 losses, Oregon should be ranked ahead of the Tigers, and the same can be said for Ohio State whom the Ducks just beat. Ole Miss got demolished by Georgia, and with that serving as their third loss, they'll definitely fall far. Missouri played a close game against Texas and may get some favor from the voters, but certainly could fall out of the Top 25
The most likely landing spot for Oregon is going to be No. 21, with Florida and Missouri falling out of the Top 25. After the two teams that fall out of the field, both Ohio State and LSU should fall behind the Ducks in the late 20-25 range.
It's going to be hard to see just how far Oregon rises, given the fact that the Ducks received just 55 points last week in the poll. The outcome is all going to come down to how the voters value beating this version of Ohio State, but the good news is that the movement is far from over with the way this season has unfolded.
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