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With the majority of precincts reporting, the news on Tuesday was shocking.
Apparently, a green wave has swept the nation.
OK, so maybe Oregon’s No. 23 ranking in the first College Football Playoff rankings isn’t that dramatic, but it certainly caught me off guard.
Yes, I’m among those who wrote that Oregon’s window cracked back open after Saturday’s 34-26 win over Northwestern. Beat Ohio State this weekend, and the Ducks might even find their way back into the Big Ten title race.
But a national ranking?
The Ducks aren’t there in the coaches poll, where they began the season No. 2. Nor are they in the AP Top 25, where they also began at No. 2. With a 5-3 record and losses to UCLA, Oklahoma State and Illinois, most voters have decided Oregon isn’t worthy.
The College Football Playoff selection committee apparently disagrees.
And there’s a case to be made. Oregon has wins over No. 20 USC and No. 25 Boise State, plus a victory over Northwestern, which was ranked No. 20 when it arrived in Eugene last weekend. Two of the Ducks’ three losses have come by a combined 10 points, including a two-point defeat to unbeaten UCLA.
There’s also the matter of the rest of college football. Plenty of teams that entered the season with championship aspirations have stumbled along the way. Maybe the committee believes Oregon has a better chance of fixing its problems than some of the others.
Dan Lanning certainly believes the Ducks can fix things. But he’s also not particularly interested in what anyone outside the program thinks of his team right now.
“Yeah, I mean, I’ll be honest. I didn’t even know that was happening yesterday,” Lanning said of the rankings release. “Of course, somebody texted, but like that doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter unless we do what we need to do. And we haven’t talked to our players about. I’m not going to talk to our players about it. Like, let’s go play this game.”
That game is against No. 12 Ohio State at the Horseshoe, where Oregon will have a chance to justify the committee’s faith.
Win, and we’ll get to continue this will-they-or-won’t-they conversation about the Ducks.
Lose, and maybe we can finally put a bow on this season.
We think.
Editor’s note: Up until now, we’ve used the AP poll to note a team’s rank. We now defer to the official CFP committee rankings, which are released every Tuesday.
The Ducks return to the hardwood
Oregon basketball is back, and the men’s and women’s programs enter this season in very different places.
For Kelly Graves and the women, there’s stability, continuity and a roster that looks ready to build on consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
For the men, there’s a whole lot of new, with a largely rebuilt roster and a sideline without Dana Altman for the first time since 2010.
Both teams opened with wins Monday at Matthew Knight Arena.
Oregon remembers its DNA
No, this Oregon football season hasn’t gone exactly as planned.
And down 20-6 to Northwestern on Saturday, the Ducks had every reason to quit.
But they didn’t.
I asked Dan Lanning why.
“We got winners in that locker room, and again, that’s not always reflected in the scoreboard,” Lanning said. “… And I just thought the energy on the sideline was outstanding today, even in moments when it didn’t look the most positive. I thought our guys really handled that extremely well.”
As I wrote in my Sunday Duck Report, what else could you want from a Saturday?
Through Nick’s lens
Some good news here at Lookout: We’ve recently hired Nick Rohlman, a Portland native, as our full-time photographer.
Nick has extensive experience shooting sports in Iowa during the Caitlin Clark era, meaning I had little worry that he’d be up for the task of shooting his first games at Autzen and Matthew Knight Arena.
Here’s his photo gallery from Saturday’s football game.
And here’s his work from the Oregon women’s home opener.
INSIDE look
This week, Ken and I got to talk about a win. That was nice.
camera roll
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“We’re gonna see if we can play with 12.”
— Dan Lanning on his plan to stop Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith
UPCOMING GAMES
Friday, Nov. 6
Men’s basketball vs. Eastern Washington • 3 p.m. • B1G+
Women’s basketball vs. Washington State • 7 p.m. • B1G+
Saturday, Nov. 7
Football at No. 12 Ohio State • 12:30 p.m. • CBS
Volleyball vs. No. 1 Nebraska • 7 p.m. • BTN
Sunday, Nov. 8
Volleyball vs. Northwestern • 6 p.m. • B1G+
Also this weekend
Men’s tennis • ITA Sectional Championships and Gonzaga Fall Invite • Thursday-Sunday
Women’s tennis • ITA Sectional Championships and Duck Invitational • Thursday-Sunday
STORIES I’m WORKING ON
I’m taking a look at one of Oregon’s newest club sports: women’s flag football.
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And to Columbus we go,
Tyson
