In the preseason, I thought Oregon had a tough and undervalued opening four-game slate.

Lost on the road to No. 19 Oklahoma State. (How did a Tulane team wiped out by Arkansas on Saturday lasso the Cowboys?)

Road win over No. 18 USC, and a home win over No. 22 Boise State. Oh, and the next game is against No. 23 UCLA, also off this week.

As always, and it was earned in the postseason in 2026, wins just mean more in the SEC and losses just mean less. Florida, with a beatdown of Ole Miss in the Swamp, moves up 13 places to No. 8. Mississippi drops five spots to No. 9.

Ohio State lost to now No. 1 Texas in Austin by one point and was ranked as low as seventh before moving up two spots this week to No. 5.

Miami destroys Central Michigan at home and moves up two spots to No. 4; Indiana defeats 40th-ranked Northwestern at home and drops a spot.

I have no beef with 10 SEC teams being ranked, well maybe with Mizzou being ranked No. 25, as nine conference games will make a difference come December. Preseason-ranked Oklahoma and Texas A&M have been exposed.

But if A&M is no good, why is Kentucky ranked? Penn State falls to No. 28 with a loss to No. 26 Wisconsin? Michigan loses by one point to a ranked Iowa team and falls out of the Top-25?

Rhyme and Reason need not apply.

The voters say, and it's hard to argue against, that the SEC is the deepest conference.

But when tabulating Others Receiving Votes, 12 B1G teams are ranked in the top 40: No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Indiana, 14 Iowa, 15 Oregon, 18 USC, 23 UCLA, 26 Wisconsin, 28 Penn State, 31 Michigan, 33 Nebraska, 38 Minnesota, and 40 Northwestern.

Big Ten football games are not a walk in the park. Today, six SEC teams would be in the 2026 playoff field, and two Big Ten teams would be in the field. Will this be the case on December 6th when the PO committee's final ranking is released?

Oregon moved up five spots with the win at USC. But an Oregon team that is 2-1 vs. the top 25 is being dinged for a road loss to a top 25 team.

Had Oregon opened with San Jose State, Fresno State, and Louisiana, with the three games played in Autzen, and won at No. 12 SC as was the case Saturday, where would Oregon be ranked?

If Ohio State had defeated Ohio U in Columbus instead of losing by a point at No. 1 Texas, where would Ohio State be ranked?

Miami has beaten Stanford, Florida A+M, Wake Forest, and Central Michigan. This equates to a No. 4 ranking?

No. 12 Texas Tech defeated No. 20 Houston by two points in Lubbock, Texas. Tech does not play another top 25 opponent in the regular season.

Keep on truckin' Ducks. The schedule sets up for a finish in the top 8 and a 1st-round playoff game in Autzen.

On3

College Football Rankings: AP Poll Top 25 after Week 4 re...

The latest AP Poll Top 25 rankings are here now that Week 4 of the college football regular season has concluded. There were some shakeups throughout the

Week 4 Overreactions - As a Head Coach, I think there's a lot of Riley in Sarkisian - Dylan Raiola is a better QB than Golden Archie - Heading into Week 5, how many teams are 2-1 vs. the Top-25 and ranked 15th or lower?

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-week-4-reaction-whats-wrong-with-texas-dante-moore-hit/

The Oregon We've Been Waiting For -👍👌😍

https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/college-football-week-4-biggest-games-results-takeaways-2026

Astute observations, JJ...

It is in abc/espn's best interest to promote and showcase the SEC teams. Their ratings depend on it.

In the end, performance on the field, along with scoreboard are all that matters.

With truly only 8 spots available(ND and 1-G6 are really gimmes and ACC and BIG12 get a spot) that leaves the SEC and BIG in play to split those spots.

This year, i can see the SEC getting at least 1, maybe 2 teams with 9-3 records. Losses are not losses when an SEC team loses to another SEC team. It follows the narrative.

The BIG will have 10-2 teams that may not make the CFP.

A 10-2 Duck team may not climb high enough to make the CFP. There may not be enough time to overcome a November loss to tOSU.

I am not saying that the Ducks will lose that game. But why risk it. Why put it in the hands of others.

Experience tells me only tOSU and maybe IU can make the CFP if they miss the BIG Title game.

Lots of football left to play but the voters are truly rewarding the SEC and no others.

Go Ducks....a few unbeaten teams lie ahead on the schedule......