It took nearly every second of the 60 minutes, but on Saturday Night the Oregon Ducks pulled off a thrilling comeback win to take down the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Dylan Raiola got the last laugh against his former team, sparking a 4th quarter comeback that in many ways felt like it saved the Ducks season as things easily could've spiraled with another loss.
While 4-2 is far from what everyone hoped for and expected coming into the season, only having two losses means the Ducks are still alive in the race for the College Football Playoff. A big reason for the Ducks remaining alive in the CFP conversation is the chaos that's unfolded this season, especially with what we saw in Week 7.
How ESPN's Football Power Index views Oregon's Playoff hopes after chaotic Week 7
According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, Oregon’s chances of making the College Football Playoff are up from 9.7% to 12.5% after beating Nebraska. The easiest path to securing a place in the CFP now is by winning the Big Ten, which ESPN’s FPI gives the Ducks a 5.0% chance of doing, up from last week's 3.6% mark due to some of the other results teams suffered in league play. The Ducks were given a grim 0.4% chance of winning the National Championship last week, but that number is slowly rising with a 0.6% chance of accomplishing the feat now.
At the midway point of the season with a 4-2 record, it's still too early for the Ducks to fully be in the Playoff conversation, as the focus at this point is just stacking wins. The important part is that the Ducks kept their hopes alive by beating Nebraska, and with all the chaos around the country the picture is starting to get wider.
Teams like Texas and Georgia losing to unranked opponents while teams like Indiana, Alabama, and Missouri all suffering conference losses only helps the Ducks with their two losses inch closer to the conversation.
The good news for Oregon is that if the Ducks can beat an injured and struggling Illinois team this weekend, it should only help as the team trends closer to returning to the conversation.
No. 19 Texas and No. 7 Ole Miss face off with massive CFP stakes as will No. 10 Utah vs. No. 14 Houston, No. 16 USC vs. Wisconsin, No. 15 Iowa vs. Minnesota, No. 18 LSU vs. Auburn, and No. 6 Indiana vs. Michigan.
The Big Ten race alone is starting to get chaotic as UCLA is the only undefeated team left in the conference while Ohio State joins them without a loss in Big Ten play. Ohio State is a team to watch over the next several weeks as Julian Sayin's injury against Indiana will keep him out several weeks, and could end up turning the race for the Big Ten Championship into chaos.
The season has been chaotic enough that Oregon can still reach every goal they entered the season with, but it starts with stacking wins.
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