Dan Lanning's Ducks have been on a heater. Yes, we highlighted their dual Hoosier losses in our recap, but it's not like anyone else was beating those Indiana squads either. A conference title and a CFP quarterfinal in their first B1G season, a CFP semifinal in their second, stymied both times by new conference brethren. They're consistently there or thereabouts; is this the year?
Off Tackle Republic
Schedule
Predictions
Biff: Hey, good news! Oregon doesn't play Indiana this season (yet)!
The home schedule is favorable; I don't see any losses until maybe Michigan. The away schedule is anything but: it starts and ends with wins but USC, Illinois, and Ohio State are tough away draws. And, the Bye comes early...it's 8 straight weeks of games from October 10 through November 28; the first 2 are back to back home games but after that it's a lot of travel. It's a veteran team returning a lot of talent and with stability at the head coach level so the bar is high and I expect they'll handle it but the opportunity for disappointment is absolutely there. I also think it's a reasonable question about whether they'll be banged up going in to the conference championship if they make it, where they very well could meet Indiana again.
Ultimately though, I'm calling 11-1 with the only loss being to Ohio State. Michigan and Washington will both give them trouble at home in late November but the Ducks will prevail.
Transient Buckeye: When it comes to the top of the conference, predictions get rather boring. As they have been for each of the past two seasons, the Ducks should be a solid Big Ten Title contender. They should be a heavy favorite to make the CFP field, and if they get in, they should be good enough to make a run. The schedule is solid, but not terribly daunting. With Ashton Jeanty no longer on the roster, Boise State probably won't put quite the scare into the Ducks that they did two years ago. Oklahoma State and Portland State don't look capable of offering meaningful resistance. There are enough good or good-ish teams on the Big Ten slate that the Ducks can afford to absorb a toe-stubbing or two and still make the CFP field. I'm going to say they go 10-2 (7-2). Ohio State would be the most obvious candidate for one of those losses, but the Ducks catch OSU off back-to-back road games against USC and Indiana. There's never a good time for Big Ten teams to take a road trip to Columbus, but there are far worse times than when Oregon is going to make the trip. I'm going to say that they get picked of by USC in L.A., and take an upset loss to someone else, though Dan Lanning has usually been pretty good about avoiding those sorts of land mines. 10-2 probably keeps Oregon out of the Big Ten title game, but should be more than good enough to get them into the College Football Playoff.
Kind of...: Feels like they should be able to got 10-2/7-2 in their sleep, but I suppose it could get tricky. @USC is a good early test. Win that, and they should be undefeated through October (sorry Illini). Maybe Michigan manballs them (though unlikely), or maybe Washington reignites the rivalry (also unlikely). But otherwise, it really does seem like it's a matter of taking care of business at home and splitting the conference road games as a floor. 11-1/8-1 might get a bye in the CFP.
One thought. I don't think they'll lose to Oklahoma State, but don't overlook that game. Eric Morris is bringing a unique offensive approach--and QB Drew Mestemaker--with him from North Texas. If they start fast against the Ducks, it could be a four quarter game.
BoilerUp89: Oregon will play in the B1G championship game and if the conference makes it a 4-peat, the Ducks will be the ones to do it.
HoustonBoiler: Oregon is one of the top three teams, along with Ohio State and Indiana, in the conference. In terms of the schedule, Oregon ducks Indiana in the regular season, but has to play at Ohio State. I expect the Buckeyes to beat the Ducks in a close game even though Ohio State has games at Indiana (10/17), a bye, and at USC (10/31) in the three weeks leading up to their game with Oregon (11/7). Other interesting games, i.e., ones that I think could be close or a challenge for Oregon, are at USC and versus Michigan. There is potential for a loss in either game if Oregon doesn't come ready to play. If Oregon brings their A or A- game in both cases, I expect them to win both. The Washington game could be tricky due to the rivalry aspect, thought the Huskies really won't be able to keep up with the Ducks at home. Illinois has doesn't have enough firepower to keep up with Oregon even with the game being in Champaign. Oregon will go 11-1 overall and 8-1 in conference. Oregon will be in the playoff and there's a good chance they'll also play in the B1G championship game.
WSR: 11-1 regular season, B1GCG loss, and a semifinal appearance. Sunrise, sunset.
