Obviously, when you lose a game in the world of college football, your ranking tends to drop a couple of spots, at the very least. For the Oregon Ducks, who were ranked as the No. 8 team in the nation going into this last weekend’s game against the then-ranked No. 7 Washington Huskies, a 36-33 loss didn’t hurt them too much when it came to the AP Poll. On Sunday morning, it was revealed that the Ducks dropped down to No. 9, while the Huskies moved up to No. 5.
If you read Ducks Wire, then you know that we like to outsource when it comes to rankings, though, and try to find different views of the balance of power in college football, whether it means using ESPN’s Football Power Index or taking a look at the power rankings from a notable analyst like FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt.
This week, we are bringing a new analyst into the mix, because after Oregon’s loss to Washington.
His name is Josh Pate, and he is the host of Lake Kick with Josh Pate on CBS Sports. He’s a fast-rising analyst in the world of college football and is someone who has been incredibly high on the Ducks since before the season started.
He remains high on the Ducks, even following this loss to Washington. Pate’s justification is that these are power rankings, so the model he uses produces the hierarchy based on who should be favored over whom, given that the game takes place on a neutral field.
Take a look at where he has Oregon ranked, and in particular, where he has Oregon ranked in conjunction with Washington.