Where Oregon landed in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings
Throughout the second half of the 2023 season, Oregon’s players and coaches have been adamant that as long as they win out, a trip to the College Football Playoff is attainable.
If the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings are any indicator, that could still prove to be the case.
The Ducks moved up one spot to No. 5 in Tuesday’s updated rankings and leapfrogged Ohio State after the Buckeyes fell to Michigan over the weekend. While several CFP contenders emerged with close-fought victories last weekend, Oregon steamrolled its way to a 31-7 win over rival Oregon State in Eugene to improve 11-1 on the year.
Georgia held strong at No. 1 in Tuesday’s rankings, while Michigan, Washington, and Florida State all held ground to round out the top-four.
Oregon and No. 3 Washington will face off in the Pac-12 title game Friday at 5 p.m. PT (ABC) in Las Vegas. As of Tuesday evening, UO is listed by multiple sports books as two-score favorites.
The Ducks suffered a 36-33 loss to the Huskies in Seattle in Week 7, but have bounced back with six consecutive wins. During that stretch, they have outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 252-96.
“I think ultimately, every single player in that locker room knew what was in front of us,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said following last Friday’s win over Oregon State in Eugene. “And we knew we wouldn’t get there if we didn’t do a good job of focusing on the task at hand. And that’s really what it’s been about. It’s been a bit about each day. It’s been about each moment. It’s gonna be tomorrow, it’s not gonna be about Washington, either. It’s gonna be about the Ducks, and what are we going to do tomorrow to be better?
So we kept the focus on us and what’s in front of us, and we know we’ve got to play good teams to get where we want to be. But again, playing our best ball — how can we get better? We talk about a growth mindset in this program. I think we have a bunch of guys that are like, ‘Okay, how can I improve? How can I get better?’ That showed up tonight.”
Nov. 28 College Football Playoff Rankings
- Georgia
- Michigan
- Washington
- Florida State
- Oregon
- Ohio State
- Texas
- Alabama
- Missouri
- Penn State
- Ole Miss
- Oklahoma
- LSU
- Louisville
- Arizona
- Iowa
- Notre Dame
- Oklahoma State
- NC State
- Oregon State
- Tennessee
- Tulane
- Clemson
- Liberty
- Kansas State
