Geoff Schwartz, the former NFL and Oregon lineman who turned being born big and funny into a fabulous career, posted a tweet yesterday of a little boy in a Tom and Jerry sweatshirt, watching cartoons on Saturday morning with his hands tucked behind his head.
That's how it felt to be a Duck fan yesterday.
The outcomes did not matter. The Ducks were in and destined to get a good seed. They could watch the color of the game and the strategies without getting caught in the tension. A bad call? A tortuous replay review? An outrageous missed holding or pass interference? Equanimity in all circumstances.
Even so, things could not have unfolded sweeter for the Ducks.
The day showed they could play with anyone in the field. Their hypothetical path to the national championship is a home game against Sun Belt Champion James Madison. then a quarterfinal game versus Texas Tech, at the Orange Bowl on January 1, followed by Indiana in the Peach Bowl, followed by Ohio State in the national championship at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Selection show televised today
The 2025 College Football Playoff Selection Show is televised live on ESPN Sunday at 9 a.m, PT. There will be a lot of hoopla and hooptedoodle, but the guts of it will look something like this:
My CFB Playoff Bracket pic.twitter.com/wRONYWOC9o
— College Football Core (@CFB_Core) December 7, 2025
The results yesterday and Friday night kept Oregon out of all the traps and complications. They stayed in the sweet spot, no first-round bye, a gradual ramp up in difficulty. Winning in the playoffs won't be easy-- Texas Tech has a linebacker crew that swarms to the ball; Indiana has one too. But they got an even break on the bracket and a home game in two weeks allows them to get some of their injured players healthy and build some momentum.
They'll have to play great games to win it, but no one in this tournament is unbeatable for them. They played their worst games of the season against the Hoosiers, and it was 20-20 in the fourth quarter. The Hoosiers are Big Ten Champions and their defense held Ohio State to a touchdown and a field goal. But Oregon is a better team now than they were in October. The goal is to be the best team in January.