Entering the campaign, Oregon was a popular championship pick. I believed in the Ducks. You, specifically, may have doubted them, but a whole lot of yous out there had similarly high expectations.
Even before Dante Moore’s concussion, the Ducks were struggling. They trailed Boise State by 10 points in the opener and lost at Oklahoma State. The earliest returns weren’t necessarily fantastic.
This, though—a 21-10 loss at Illinois—is a nightmare for a program with a handsomely paid, highly experienced roster. Oregon fell to 4-3 and is effectively out of the College Football Playoff discussion. What seemed like a showdown at Ohio State to begin November has become just another game on the calendar.
Heck, Northwestern might beat Oregon in Eugene next Saturday. That’s not a sentence we expected to type in 2026.