Unfortunate Reality for Oregon Ducks When Compared to Oregon State Beavers

The Oregon Ducks haven't met their expectations in the 2026 season, but their in-state rivals have exceeded theirs.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning watches his final kickoff bounce down the sideline as the Oregon Ducks host the UCLA Bruins on Oct. 10, 2026, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

It looks like the state of Oregon now has a new top college football team this season. In the most recent edition of the AP Poll, the Oregon State Beavers received more votes than the Oregon Ducks.

Oregon State ended up with 10 votes, and Oregon had zero. That would rank the Beavers at No. 29 in college football.

Oct 3, 2026; Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; Oregon State Beavers head coach JaMarcus Shephard on the sidelines in the game against Colorado State Rams at Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Rydland-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After starting the 2026 preseason as the No. 2-ranked program in the AP Poll, the Ducks have fallen to a 4-3 overall record, 2-2 in Big Ten Conference play. That includes two losses to unranked teams at the time: the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Illinois Fighting Illini.

Oregon State's beginnings were far from smooth, falling to two ranked opponents, the then No. 23 Houston Cougars on the road and the then No. 13 Texas Tech Red Raiders at Reser Stadium. Since that point, the Beavers went on to win five straight games and are currently undefeated in Pac-12 Conference play at 3-0.

According to FanDuel, Oregon State now has better odds of making the College Football Playoff than Oregon. Coach JaMarcus Shephard's group in Year 1 has +800 odds to achieve that goal at the moment. As for coach Dan Lanning's team, their odds of making the 12-team field have dropped significantly to +2200.

The Beavers would have to win the Pac-12 title, most likely over the No. 20 Boise State Broncos (6-1, 3-0 Pac-12), in order to be possibly seeded in the College Football Playoff as the highest-ranked Group of Six selection.

Oregon State travels to Boise State on Nov. 14 at 3:00 p.m. PT on the USA Network.

Oregon offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer during a press conference on March 14, 2026, in Eugene, Oregon. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Oregon Makes Offensive Coordinator Change; Oregon State's Jesse Legree to Return in 2027

The two schools in the Pacific Northwest couldn't be going in two more different directions as Oregon has parted ways with first-year offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer.

The offense has lacked an identity and hasn't used its five-star talents to their full potential under Mehringer. In the last three games, his offense has only scored 42 total points.

On the season thus far, Mehringer was only able to conjure up 33.1 points per game and 423.1 total yards of offense per game. That places the Ducks tied for No. 40 and No. 42 in the nation, respectively.

Oct 3, 2026; Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; Oregon State Beavers wide receiver Jesse Legree (12) runs after a catch against the Colorado State Rams in the second half at Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Rydland-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As for Oregon State's wide receiver Jesse Legree, the true freshman announced his plans to return to school in Corvallis, Oregon, for the 2027 season. The young standout at 5-10 and 170 pounds leads the country in many statistical categories.

• 14 receiving touchdowns
• 1,040 receiving yards through seven games
• 148.6 receiving yards per game

Legree is the only player in the nation to have 1,000 receiving yards on 46 receptions. He averages 22.6 yards per catch, the third-highest in the NCAA.

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