Oregon Ducks' College Football Playoff Path Gaining National Attention

Its been quite the landmark weekend for coach Dan Lanning and the No. 23 Oregon Ducks (6-3 overall, 4-2 Big Ten), who captured a dominant 41-28 victory against the No. 12 Ohio State Buckeyes at "The Horseshoe", the programs' second-consecutive victory against the Buckeyes when visiting Columbus, Ohio.

Just two games prior after Oregon's road loss to Illinois, the Ducks' playoff chances appeared slim. Now, that appears to be changing as a path for Oregon to reach one of the coveted twelve spots seems to become clearer.

Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning yells during the NCAA football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 7, 2026. Ohio State lost 41-28. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Scott Van Pelt Draws Up Oregon Ducks' Playoff Path

In the latest episode of the SVPod from longtime sports commentators Scott Van Pelt and "Stanford" Steve Coughlin, the Ducks' victory against the Buckeyes was a hot button topic, with Van Pelt admitting he thought the Ducks would be out of the playoff conversation based on their roller-coaster season.

"I gotta be honest, watching them and that game against Nebraska, and I thought I can't believe how bad these teams are. It was just this horrible game and they won and it was fairly miraculous. And then they lose to Illinois. They beat Northwestern. They beat Ohio State. Now they play Michigan, Michigan State, Washington," Van Pelt said.

Oregon STILL has a path to the College Football Playoff 👀#GoDucks pic.twitter.com/esxBX4JtuD
— SVPod (@_SVPod) November 9, 2026

"Oregon wins out," said Coughlin, explaining his theory for the Ducks' path to the playoffs. "UCLA beats Illinois Friday, this coming Friday, the 13th. USC wins out. Oregon wins a four-way tie breaker and plays UCLA in the Big Ten title game. What comes with that is a chance in the playoff."

Coughlin and Van Pelt also discussed the "uncharted waters" of Ohio State being out of the playoff conversation as Oregon still has some life left in their postseason hopes, a unique position to be in given that Ohio State and the Ducks held the No. 1 and No. 2 AP Preseason Poll rankings respectively.

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Oregon Ducks quarterback Dylan Raiola (8) hugs head coach Dan Lanning during the NCAA football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 7, 2026. Ohio State lost 41-28. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Oregon's Upcoming Match-Ups

Given the sporadic nature of this season of college football, there's a chance Van Pelt and Coughlin's proposed series of events could happen. The Ducks do have a short turnaround between their Saturday, Nov. 14 Michigan (2-4 Big Ten record) game at home to their Friday, Nov. 20 game against the Michigan State Spartans (1-5 Big Ten record), but their current records don't spell tough competition (especially with Michigan State winning 15-6 over their in-state rival during week ten).

Plus, an Autzen Stadium setting for Oregon's notorious regular season finale rivalry game against the Washington Huskies (2-4 Big Ten record) is a positive sign for a game that historically clocks in more penalties and mistakes due to those rivalry emotions.

With a team that feels like its finally finding some offensive rythym under co-quarterbacks coach and play-caller Jay Johnson, the following games do seem winnable with a team that performs like they did in Columbus.

Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning leaves the field following the NCAA football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 7, 2026. Ohio State lost 41-28. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Rest Of The Pieces

As for the other elements in Van Pelt and Coughlin's predicted path, No. 8 UCLA is facing the Fighting Illini on their home turf after a victory on the road against Minnesota. The Bruins also boast minimal injuries to important players with quite the roll coming from coach Bob Chesney's inaugural year as head coach. However, Illinois coach Bret Bielema enter this contest off a home win against Nebraska, with their other big win of the season also at home against Oregon.

No. 20 USC is also part of the puzzle. On Nov. 14, the Trojans are on the road to face the No. 4 Indiana Hoosiers (No. 2 in the Big Ten at 5-1 for conference record), who only hold one loss in their season against the Buckeyes. Then, USC faces Maryland at home, and finishes off the season with a road game against the undefeated Bruins.

Wilder storylines have happened before, but the Ducks' fate is clearly not entirely up to them. Illinois and Indiana have to lose for Oregon to squeak into the Big Ten title game, and only time will tell if that door gets propped open for Lanning and crew.

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