Oregon’s National Title Path Is Open As Husky Week Arrives In Eugene

By SPENCER McLAUGHLIN
Contributor, 750 The Game

Oregon was idle during Week 13 and that felt better and better for Duck fans as the day went on. #9 Ole Miss lost to unranked Florida. #7 Alabama inexplicably was destroyed 24-3 by a subpar Oklahoma team. Texas A&M lost on the road against Auburn in 4 overtimes, ending with a drop or else there would have been a 5th.

Rivalry week is here and the Oregon Ducks are the ONLY unbeaten team in all of college football. 

As the chaos continued to parade across the country I found myself thinking about how well this late-season bye has worked out for the Ducks. Not only were they able to rest up and expect to get WR Tez Johnson back this week against Washington, but they were able to do so after a heart-stopping thriller in Madison. Oregon beat the Badgers 16-13 with defense and special teams (in that order) leading the way for Dan Lanning’s squad. How does that win feel now?

At least a little bit more impressive. This season feels as chaotic as we’ve ever seen in college football, with unranked teams knocking off teams perceived to be national title threats seemingly every week. The Ducks will have to play better on the field to win it all than they did against Wisconsin and Maryland, but the quality of those wins looks better after this past weekend.

Major programs with great players and coaches, like Alabama with HC Kalen DeBoer, are struggling with unranked opponents and often losing outright. The Crimson Tide should be out of the Playoff with road losses to Vanderbilt and now Oklahoma. Dan Lanning has yet to lose to an unranked opponent in his Oregon tenure, and that feat looks more impressive as time goes on.

Which brings us to the rivalry slot historically reserved for ‘The Civil War’ but is now home to the Washington game for the Ducks. Oregon has secured a spot in the Big 10 Championship Game no matter what happens this weekend across the sport. But that doesn’t change the fact that Dan Lanning has to win this week–and it needs to be comfortable.

No, Lanning’s seat doesn’t warm if the Ducks are upset by 6-5 Washington this week (who haven’t won a road game this year). No, the season isn’t a failure if Oregon makes the national title game with its only loss coming to a rebuilding Husky team at home.

But it sure wouldn’t sit right for Duck fans.

Oregon is a big favorite and they should be. Both teams are coming off a bye, but it’s the Ducks who have home field advantage. It’s the Ducks who have a veteran roster led by Heisman hopeful Dillon Gabriel (however slim those chances may be). It’s the Ducks who can win the Big 10 and national title.

And it’s Dan Lanning who hasn’t beaten Washington yet.

Last year’s regular season meeting in Seattle was the highest-ranked matchup ever between these two heated rivals. The Pac-12 title game likely decided which team made the 4-team Playoff. Washington won those games by a combined 6 points and it’s not hard to wonder if large subsets of Oregon fans have forgotten those matchups.

They haven’t.

Hindsight might have slightly forgiven Lanning getting out coached by Kalen DeBoer at Autzen Stadium in 2022 in his first season as a head coach, but that was still a game the Ducks should have won. 

Everything favors Oregon in this spot. Talent, home field advantage, and roster/coaching continuity. The national ramifications are incredibly minimal with a B1G Championship game secured, but internally and around Eugene this is a game Dan Lanning has to have.

And for the sake of some Oregon fans…they would probably like to cover the 18.5 point spread (by a lot) if possible.

Spencer McLaughlin is an Oregon Ducks football contributor to 750 The Game. He also hosts the “Locked On Oregon Ducks” and “Locked On College Football” podcasts and has work featured throughout the season here.