Oregon, under Dan Lanning, has been defeated just by Indiana so far. They are 7-1 in the season and look formidable moving on. But their schedule ahead is the primary concern. With teams like Iowa, USC, and Washington stacked further on. The hopes of a CFP berth are looking slim.

Joel Klatt, in his recent podcast episode, talked about various teams’ CFP hopes. However, amongst those teams, Oregon didn’t make the cut. The reason? Klatt outlined how SEC teams like Ole Miss have a favorable schedule and probably won’t lose any more games. Moreover, other teams like Alabama and Texas will both make it to the playoffs, despite Bama losing to Oklahoma, as Joel Klatt predicted. Not to mention, Texas A&M looks dominant.

“Bama, same thing. They’ve got U. Even if they lost to Oklahoma, they’re not falling out of the top 10. Georgia, even if they lost to Texas, they’re not falling out of the top 10. Ole Miss has a schedule that’s much more manageable than the other SEC teams down the stretch. So, I don’t see them losing a game,” said Joel Klatt.  But it’s not just the SEC teams for Joel Klatt. The B1G teams like Indiana, Ohio State, and Michigan also have a solid case, making Oregon an obvious casualty.

Klatt touted Michigan to beat Ohio State and finally make the Big 10 championship game. However, despite the loss, the analyst predicted Ohio State to make the playoffs with an 11-win record. Lastly, teams like Indiana and Texas A&M in the SEC already look to be favorites for top seeds. That leaves Oregon navigating with three CFP contention teams in 6-2 Iowa, USC, and Washington. Not to mention, the Iowa and Washington games are on the road. A slip up would mean losing CFP hopes.

“Oregon has a ridiculously difficult November. Oregon has to go to Kinnick Stadium. It looks like it could be rain, sleet, or nasty weather in Iowa on Saturday. They’ve got a USC team coming to town, and then they’ve got to go to Washington. So, of all the teams, the one that I think is actually the most likely to lose a game or maybe even two is Oregon,” said Klatt. There are issues, too, that can surface on the road in Oregon.

Dante Moore has so far passed for 1,772 yards at an impressive 71.4% efficiency. Surely, his passing game is top-notch, but we haven’t seen much from his legs yet. The QB has just 131 rushing yards to his name and doesn’t even have a touchdown to his name on the ground. Not just that, but the RBs are also not getting those rushing yards when it matters.

For instance, against Indiana, Oregon’s poor rushing game led to the team’s defeat. Moore, too, was a bit shaky in his passing game, throwing 2 interceptions and taking 6 sacks. Then, the RBs also didn’t turn up, as the rushing unit notched just 81 yards. On the contrary, Indiana had 2 rushing touchdowns in that 20-30 defeat of Oregon. So, when Washington and USC bring those elite pass rushers, the rushing game will have to save Dan Lanning. But we haven’t seen that yet against major opponents like Indiana. This isn’t the only roadblock for Lanning.

CFP Committee Chairperson signals tough road for Oregon ahead

Oregon is currently sitting at 9th on ESPN College Football’s Power Index and the CFP rankings. So, even one loss against any of the 4 teams further will most likely kick Oregon out of the top-12. The reason for Oregon’s 9th place is simple, according to CFP selection committee chair Mack Rhoades. Oregon’s strength of schedule won’t favor them, despite the team looking good on tape.

“Oregon, when you look at them in the top 10, are lowest ranked in terms of record strength. The committee had a lot of conversation, rigorous debate, and conversation about Oregon as a team…Their one loss is to our No. 2-ranked team, Indiana. When we looked at and evaluated Oregon, we really looked in terms of just the quality of the team and how they looked on film,” said Mack Rhoades. The verdict?

Can Oregon rise away from all these predictions and even make it to top-4? Probably! If the team beats all three teams in USC, Washington, and Iowa. But currently, that looks like a tough task to accomplish. USC has the 10th-ranked passing offense in the country, along with a 19th-ranked rushing offense. Not just that, Iowa has a 39th-ranked passing defense in the country on which Oregon relies, along with a second-ranked total defense. Washington, on the other hand, looks to be the only one among the three where Oregon can win. But doing that in Seattle at the Husky Stadium will still be a tall task.