12-Team Playoff: Ducks’ path to championship in hypothetical expanded playoff

A look at what the Oregon Ducks’ path to the national championship would look like if the 12-team playoff were in place this season.

This is the final year of a 4-team College Football Playoff, and while we can enjoy the exclusivity it provides to the top teams in the sport, we can also dream of a world in which the 12-team playoff was already in place.

While the four-team model is relatively straightforward with the College Football Playoff selection committee picking the four teams who deserve to get in, the 12-team model comes with a bit more nuance.

The 12-team model that was approved last year would include the six highest-ranked conference champions and six at-large teams, with the four highest-ranked conference champions seeded 1 through 4 and receiving first-round byes. The first-round games would be played on campus sites.

So with that system in mind, where would the Oregon Ducks stand after the release of the first official CFP rankings of the year? Take a look:

Note: In these matchups, we advanced Oregon through each game to show what their path would look like, while teams in other matchups were advanced based on who had the higher seed.