So you’re telling me there’s a chance.
One game at a time, starting with Ohio State. The committee put Oregon No. 23 in its first College Football Playoff rankings on Nov 3. Beat the Buckeyes, win out, get some help, and the Ducks could still play their way in.
4 days to kickoffOregon at Ohio State · Sat Nov 7 · 12:30 PM PT · CBS · Ohio Stadium
Oregon Football vs Northwestern | Game HIGHLIGHTS (2026) Oregon's own cut of the 34-26 win over No. 20 Northwestern. GoDucks
From the program, Oct 25, 2026
Oregon relieves its offensive coordinator
Oregon Relieves Offensive Coordinator Mehringer of Duties
— @oregonfootball Oct 25, 2026
This week
The first rankings
The College Football Playoff committee ranked Oregon No. 23 on Tuesday night, Nov 3, with Ohio State at No. 12 and USC, the team Oregon beat 41-27, at No. 20. The AP and Coaches polls both left the Ducks out on Nov 1. The committee’s list is the one that sets the field (College Football Playoff, Nov 3, 2026). All the rankings →
What winning out looks like
Four games, all Big Ten: at Ohio State, Michigan, at Michigan State, Washington. Win them and Oregon finishes 9-3 and 7-2 in the conference. The Big Ten title game takes the top two by conference record, and after Oct 31 UCLA is 5-0, Indiana is 5-1 and Ohio State is 4-1, against Oregon’s 3-2 (standings). Sports Illustrated’s Lily Crane says Oregon likely needs UCLA to win out, Illinois to lose again and Indiana to drop another game, that a loss Saturday would all but end it, and that winning the Big Ten title would secure a berth. ESPN’s Rece Davis: “if they win out, it’s not crazy to think that they can get into the Big Ten Championship game and win the conference” (as quoted by Sports Illustrated, Nov 2026).
Our opinion
It is a long shot and it takes help, and we are taking it anyway. Ten days after losing at Illinois, this team has a new play-caller, a ranked win and a pulse. None of the rest matters without Saturday: 12:30 PM PT on CBS in Columbus, with Ryan Day starting freshman Luke Fahey again and Ohio State a 7.5-point favorite (FanDuel via Sports Illustrated, Nov 2, 2026). The preview →
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The 2026 Team
The Stuff Worth Watching
After Northwestern: the plays, the players and the press conferences, each checked against YouTube for channel and upload date. All 9 Northwestern week videos →
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A new call sheet.
Through seven games the story was yards without points: 426 yards at Illinois, 10 on the board. Then Oregon changed its play-caller and scored 34 on No. 20 Northwestern, with Dylan Raiola throwing for 336. A season that was supposed to be about a young quarterback and the deepest roster in the Big Ten is, at 5-3, about whether one good afternoon was the start of something.
Working: Raiola to Dakorien Moore (7 catches, 128 yards, two touchdowns), Brandon Smith (82 yards, the team high, against Northwestern), Teitum Tuioti (2.5 sacks at Illinois) and Jamari Johnson as a reliable target. Still open: who carries it with Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr. banged up, and a receiver room waiting on Jeremiah McClellan and Messiah Hampton.
Settled on Oct 26: Dante Moore will not play again this season (see the injury tracker), and Jay Johnson leads the play-calling after Oregon relieved Drew Mehringer of his duties (Lanning, as quoted by ESPN, Oct 26, 2026). Our read: Illinois all but ended the playoff conversation, and then the committee put Oregon No. 23 on Nov 3. It takes winning out and it takes help. Anything can happen in Columbus.
The next honest answer is at Ohio State on Nov 7.
As of November 3, 2026, 8 games in. Sources: Oregon Athletics official box scores (Oct 17, Oct 24 and Oct 31, 2026); ESPN play-by-play (Oct 24 and Oct 31, 2026); College Football Playoff rankings (Nov 3, 2026); Oregon Athletics release on Mehringer (Oct 25, 2026)
What the First Six Games Said
In August the case made itself: back-to-back CFP appearances, a Big Ten title in year one, 48-8 under Lanning. Then Stillwater took the benefit of the doubt: 39-31 to an Oklahoma State team that had not beaten an FBS opponent in 21 tries. The Coliseum gave some of it back. Then UCLA came to Autzen and Oregon gave it away seven times in a 17-15 loss. Then Nebraska came in and Oregon won it ugly, 17-14, on a touchdown with 28 seconds left. Through six games, on Oct 17: two losses by a combined ten points, out of the AP Top 25, and six Big Ten games still ahead. Below is what six games answered, and what they did not.
Dig in: the 2026 schedule and what the gauntlet actually looks like, the roster and depth chart, Dan Lanning, and every BCS and CFP game Oregon has played.
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