Torres' Take: Oregon Lands in Top Four of First College Football Playoff Rankings
In an announcement that shocked a lot of people, Oregon was ranked No. 4 in the initial college football playoff rankings for this season. They came in behind No. 3 Michigan State, No. 2 Alabama, and No. 1 Georgia.
Add me to the group of folks that was surprised. I was surprised not because the committee showed it actually values head-to-head matchups, but because of the inconsistencies Oregon had early on in the season, and how I thought those would be much more costly in the eyes of the committee.
For a couple weeks there, we were watching a Ducks team that hardly resembled the team that knocked off Ohio State in Columbus. However, in the face of all those inconsistencies, this team overcame a TON of adversity, and if it weren't for a whistle in Palo Alto, we'd probably be looking at an undefeated team.
It looks like the committee took all of that into account when evaluating Oregon's lone loss of the season.
That overtime loss came without their offensive coordinator, without an emerging start at safety in Bennett Williams, losing their starting running back for the season, and being without their best player in Kayvon Thibodeaux during the game's closing moments.
Williams was a turnover machine (the good kind) before his injury, and the secondary continues to get it done as they shift around pieces including Bryan Addison and Daymon David.
Whatever this team looked like early in the season, it feels like we're finally starting to see the full potential unleashed on both sides of the ball. When Thibodeaux is at his best, he can singlehandedly wreck an offense. If he's getting double teamed, it frees up space for Noah Sewell or Bradyn Swinson to come screaming off the edge.
And can we talk about Jeffrey Bassa? A move from his home in the secondary to compensate for the barrage of injuries at linebacker, has been going quite well. He's a name we're hearing more and more in games and his teammates echo that he's getting more comfortable as time goes on. The true freshman continues to display his high football IQ and why he was such an important get for this staff.
Let's flip to the other side of the ball.
The offense is coming off its most efficient game of the season with Anthony Brown racking up over 300 passing yards in his most complete game as a Duck. Travis Dye continued to dominate en route to three touchdowns and shared the love as freshmen Byron Cardwell and Seven McGee also found the end zone in what should be viewed as nothing less than an offensive explosion (7.1 yards per rush, 8.7 yards per pass).
The offensive line bullied the Colorado defensive front and opened some massive holes for the running backs as Alex Mirabal was forced to shift personnel like he has been all month without Alex Forsyth. Ryan Walk has been stellar in his snapping duties and the offensive line looks like it's really gelling even when different players rotate.
The wide receivers are making big plays in a passing attack is steadily improving, headlined by the continued emergence of Devon Williams as wide receiver one and highly-touted freshman Troy Franklin scoring his first touchdown while making several big plays.
I say all that to say this. It all comes with a caveat.
There are still four games on the schedule, and none of them should be chalked up as easy wins.
1. @Washington
2. Vs. Washington State (Pac-12 after dark)
3. @Utah
4. Vs. Oregon State
These matchups look a lot different than they did at the beginning of the season, but here's why I'm confident Oregon can take care of business.
This team is as battle tested as you'll find playing in the Pac-12, due in part to their toughest games of the season all being away from Autzen Stadium. The win over Ohio State showed them that Mario Cristobal's vision is one massive step closer to reality when younger players had to step up and play a huge role.
That UCLA game had them face the most dynamic quarterback the conference has to offer, slow down two stud running backs, and clash with a strong front on both sides of the ball.
The loss at Stanford stung, but it's evident the team has learned from it and knows that it can't afford to bring anything less than its best each and every week. I don't anticipate we're going to see some of the errors that we saw earlier in the season going forward, as we're seeing fewer penalties and more consistency across the board.
And the boos at home? Anthony Brown has tuned all of that out and is playing his best football of the season as we enter the home stretch. The offensive execution is the best it's been all year and that's sure to breed confidence for the Ducks.
I'll leave you with this.
The No. 4 ranking is great, but it doesn't mean anything because this team still has a whole lot it needs to do if it wants to end up in the playoff when the real selection process begins.
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Ducks unfazed by initial playoff rankings, focused on task at hand
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