With Another Statement Victory, Oregon Ducks Will Be No. 1 In First CFP Rankings

By SPENCER McLAUGHLIN
Contributor, 750 The Game

Oregon fumbled a punt, didn’t score a touchdown in the third quarter, and its defense didn’t play its best game of the year.

Final score: Oregon 38, Michigan 17

The first ever 12-team Playoff rankings come out on Tuesday and Oregon should fully expect to be the number one team. The win against Ohio State was bolstered when the Buckeyes went into Happy Valley and won 20-13 in a crazy early-morning football game (on the west coast). That coupled with Oregon’s performance in ‘The Big House’ is more than enough to allow them to keep their ranking.

The Ducks proved once again that they’re capable of being the best team in the country on any given Saturday. The Ducks outgained the Wolverines 470 to 270, but the game was still technically in doubt early in the fourth quarter. Oregon pulled away late with a goal line stand followed by a 90-yard TD drive to win 38-17 (and cover the spread!).

That’s not why Lanning wanted to punch in that final touchdown with Jordan James to go up by 21 points, but I do think there is a part of him that wanted to send a message to the country and his team: This version of Oregon can beat anyone.

Dillon Gabriel went for almost 300 yards passing with a couple of touchdowns, and just continues looking more and more comfortable in Will Stein’s offense every week. Jordan James ran for over 100 yard against a Michigan front seven that was Top 15 in the country in rushing yards allowed per game. He’s crossed the century mark against both Michigan and Ohio State this year.

Can we give some love to Oregon’s offensive line? They allowed 0 sacks against Michigan–as they did against Ohio State–and have completely changed the narrative from earlier this season. We’ll see how serious the injury to Marcus Harper is, who has started every game at both guard positions this year.

Speaking of injuries, Tez Johnson left the game on Saturday and did not return whilst wearing a sling on the sideline. He posted an instagram story with a “broken heart” emoji on Sunday. That doesn’t confirm anything. Losing Tez Johnson would be a blow to Oregon’s offense, but one they’re clearly capable of overcoming. Johnson was a preseason All-Big 10 selection and posted over 1,000 yards last year. He’s Oregon’s leading receiver this year with 64 receptions for 649 yards and 8 touchdowns. 

He went down early in the game, yet Oregon still walked away from a road game against an NFL-laden defense with 38 points. Sure, Will Johnson didn’t play and he’s a top tier cornerback that could have helped the Wolverines a lot. I don’t think he was changing the outcome of the game nor was he stopping Oregon’s wideouts. He is, after all, just one guy.

Tez is a phenomenal player and it would stink to see his career end like that. Oregon’s recruiting efforts in the last couple of years showed up on Saturday. The WR room has an insane amount of weapons. Traeshon Holden had his best game of the year when Tez went down, and Justius Lowe is making plays on a weekly basis. Those two with Evan Stewart (who’s insane, by the way) make for a more than suitable receiving corps for Dillon Gabriel. And I didn’t even mention the tight ends.

Oregon is deep, talented, and playing good football. Their best game might still be in front of them but that they’re still unbeaten and rolling everyone except Ohio State is a testament to what Dan Lanning has built.

The defense didn’t have its best day against an inept Michigan offense, allowing 17 points. I wouldn’t want to be Maryland’s offense next week trying to go against Tosh Lupoi’s unit at Autzen Stadium.

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.