It’s a credit to Oregon that the majority of the attention from the Ducks’ double-overtime win at Penn State was on the Nittany Lions for losing, rather than Oregon for actually winning.
Oregon has long been considered one of the best programs in the country, even without that elusive national championship. And now, under coach Dan Lanning, the Ducks have won 23 consecutive regular-season games. That includes a win against Ohio State last year and at Penn State this year, which moved the Ducks up to No. 2 in this week’s edition of The Athletic 136.
The Ducks had slipped a bit in these rankings over the last few weeks simply because they had not yet played a notable opponent. Now, they have one of the best wins of the season.
For all the attention on veteran quarterbacks such as Cade Klubnik, Drew Allar and Garrett Nussmeier entering the season, we overlooked that Oregon had a former five-star recruit and Pac-12 starter on the bench last season. Dante Moore looked poised and comfortable and was the better quarterback on Saturday night, dueling with Drew Allar in one of the toughest environments in the sport.
The Rose Bowl blowout loss to Ohio State put a damper on what was otherwise an incredible, impressive season for the Ducks a year ago. This is a program that is defined by its postseason results, the sign of being a top team. But as we close the first month of the season, Oregon is more than well-positioned for a second consecutive Big Ten title run. And, maybe, a lot more.
Ole Miss climbs to No. 5 after beating LSU 24-19. It’s very close between Miami, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Texas A&M in that spot. Indiana jumps up after a 20-15 win at Iowa, and last week’s blowout of Illinois looks better after Illinois beat USC.
Florida State slides a bit after the loss to Virginia because its win against Alabama looks better after the Tide won at Georgia. I didn’t want to penalize the Seminoles too much just yet for an overtime loss, with such an impressive win on the resume.
A shakeup here. Penn State drops only three spots for the overtime loss to Oregon because the game was so close. Texas and Penn State have similar resumes, relying solely on a one-possession loss to a top team, and a close loss to a good team does not have to be much of a negative on the resume. Texas only “drops” on an idle week because of the wins by the three teams that jumped the Longhorns. Georgia stays ahead of both because of the Bulldogs earlier win at Tennessee.
Iowa State, Missouri and Vanderbilt slide up after blowout wins, but all have yet to play a top-tier opponent. The good news is Vandy and Mizzou get Alabama over the next two weeks. LSU drops down with the loss, continuing a slide after the brief move up to No. 1 in Week 2, since the resume lacks much of anything notable. The Tigers’ Week 1 win against Clemson may claim this season’s award for biggest overreaction. Georgia Tech falls after needing a missed offsides call and overtime to beat Wake Forest.
Illinois moves back into the top 25 after beating USC at the buzzer, Virginia comes in after the win against Florida State, and Louisville also gets into this group after the comeback win at Pitt to move to 4-0.
Mississippi State remains at No. 27 after an overtime loss at Tennessee, aided by Arizona State’s win against TCU. Cincinnati jumps up for its win at Kansas, and Nebraska rises while idle because its Week 1 win over the Bearcats now looks better. Cal’s win at Boston College sees the Golden Bears get back up to No. 46, while Syracuse’s loss at Duke without Steve Angeli has the Orange falling.
BYU remains outside of my top 25 simply because of the schedule. The Cougars haven’t played a team in my top 50 and have played just one in the top 70, so they remain floating around where they started in the preseason. But the future schedule includes several big opponents. There’s plenty of time to move up, don’t worry.
North Texas is up to No. 57 after beating South Alabama for its first 5-0 start since 1959. NC State drops after losing to a Virginia Tech team with an interim head coach. Arkansas falls for the blowout loss to Notre Dame that forced its coaching change on Sunday, but not further due to close calls against Ole Miss and Memphis.
New Mexico rises after handling New Mexico State for the Lobos’ first 3-1 start since 2007. Hawaii nudges up into this group after beating Air Force on the road.
Kansas State gets up to No. 77 for beating UCF. Army falls below K-State despite the head-to-head result because the Black Knights are now 1-3 after a loss to East Carolina. Keep an eye on Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA race; the Bulldogs are up to 4-1.
Washington State’s win against Colorado State moves the Cougars just ahead of San Diego State after the Aztecs beat Northern Illinois in a 6-3 barnburner. Central Michigan has won three in a row to get up to No. 100.
Oregon State falls after blowing a 14-point lead to Houston in the fourth quarter to drop to 0-5. Kennesaw State climbs with a third consecutive win, this one against Middle Tennessee in conference play. ULM beat Arkansas State to end a 16-year losing streak, and the Warhawks move up, while Louisiana beat Marshall in a shootout to climb back up to No. 116. No changes in the bottom 10.
(Photo: Isaiah Vazquez / Getty Images)
