Three signs the Ducks may be better than their No. 6 ranking

Dante Moore has thrown the most touchdown passes of any quarterback in the West with 19, ahead of Noah Fifita of Arizona, 17, USC's Jayden Maiava, 15, and Boise State Bronco Maddux Madsen, 15. In the Big Ten he's third in passer rating behind Julian Sayin of Ohio State and Indiana's Fernando Mendoza.

Sayin has been on a tear this season running the Ohio State offense, but the Buckeyes' dominant defense, veteran offensive line and elite receiver room sets him up for success. He's rarely under duress.

OSU doesn't face another ranked opponent until their season-ending game at traditional rival No. 25-ranked Michigan at the end of the year. From now until the end of the season it's a cruise of the Great Lakes, Penn State, at Purdue, UCLA, and Rutgers.

Fox college football analyst and podcast host Joel Klatt ranks the Ducks No. 4 in the country, behind only Ohio State, Indiana and Alabama.

On his weekly podcast Klatt said, "That was a huge bounce-back win for them after losing at home to Indiana, which we know is a great team. They hammered Rutgers with 415 rushing yards."

"Dan Lanning looked at the second half of that film against Indiana and he thought to himself, 'Nope, that's not how this is gonna go. We're going to be a team that's going to win the line of scrimmage.'"

In the JP Poll, the weekly power ranking from "The Josh Pate College Football Show," Oregon ranks No. 3 behind the Buckeyes and Hoosiers, meaning they'd be favored on a neutral field over Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame or Miami, which sets them up well to reach the semifinal of the College Football Playoff.

Currently ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll, the Ducks are on track to host a home playoff game, the seeding that catapulted Ohio State and Penn State to deep runs last season. As it stands now they'd miss the Big Ten Championship Game, giving them a favorable mix of time off and momentum.

A home playoff game in Autzen would be a frenzy.

They're favored this weekend against Wisconsin by 33.5, 4:00 p.m. P.T. at Autzen Stadium, televised on FS1. It's their last tuneup before a November slate that features four unranked teams but talented opponents with winning records, at 5-2 Iowa, home Friday night against 5-2 Minnesota, a bye, home November 22 versus Maiava and 5-2 USC, in Seattle to take on Demond Williams and traditional rival Washington, also 5-2.

The Ducks will be favored in all four but the story of college football this season has been upsets and parity. It will take a focused finish to gain that home playoff game.