No NCAA Football Playoff Odds For Oregon

When Oregon lost at Michigan State a couple of weeks ago, the consensus was that the loss shouldn’t hurt the Ducks’ NCAA Football odds to make the postseason because of the fact that Michigan State could also end up in the playoff – and that the Spartans comprised a tough enough opponent for the loss to be excusable. Not any more. #18 Utah went to #13 Oregon and simply destroyed the Ducks, blowing them out 62-20 and posting the largest number of points for an Oregon opponent in the Ducks’ home stadium. Utah is now 4-0 and cruising nicely into the bye. Oregon, though, has two losses and will not be in the playoff.

Joey Harrington has heard enough from “bandwagon” Oregon fans. http://t.co/4pVl6Y1037 pic.twitter.com/5tGt3QCDgh

— Sporting News (@sportingnews) September 30, 2015

Analyzing Why There Will Be No NCAA Football Playoff Odds For Oregon

Did the loss of Marcus Mariota hurt this much? They were still supposed to have Royce Freeman to carry the ball and Bralon Addison to catch it. They were relying on Eastern Washington transfer Vernon Adams to lead the offense, but he doesn’t appear up to the job. The Ducks pulled him after just seven attempts, and his replacement, Jeff Lockie, didn’t do much better, going 10 for 20 and 139 yards with a touchdown but also two interceptions. If you don’t have a quality quarterback, that’s one thing, but even a good offense can’t compensate for a defense that surrenders 7.2 yards per play. Utah started with a couple of difficult seasons in the Pac-12, but last year saw them break through, beating USC and UCLA. Even though the Utes were picked to come in fifth in the Pac-12 South this year, they are still brimming with confidence. Utah is a quality team with a style of play that is extremely physical. Their opponents wear down in the trenches, and the whole game is affected. Their quarterback, Travis Wilson, went 18 for 30, gaining 227 yards and throwing for four scores. He also carried the ball for 100 yards – on only six attempts.

How Will The Ducks Fare In The PAC-12 Now

The Pac-12 remains extremely difficult to call. None of the home teams won a conference game, which was also surprising to see with Arizona State. Road teams have scored 273 points in the first two weeks of conference play, while the home teams have scored 143 points. The Arizona State offense didn’t do anything against USC during the first half of their game, and nobody knows how the Trojans will progress. So Utah is a legitimate candidate for the Pac-12 South title. And what about Oregon? They will be in a fight now just to win the Pac-12 North and make it to the title game. Oregon State is always happy to apply a beating to their in-state rivals, and if you watched Oregon just lose by 42, you saw a team that could lose just about any game in their conference that does not involve Washington State. It will be interesting to see how Oregon plans to reverse the damage.