For the first time all season, the Oregon Ducks seemingly played a complete game on Saturday night against the Arizona Wildcats. The offense was relentless, producing almost 600 yards in three quarters, and the rushing attack wouldn’t quit. Even more encouraging was a defense that stifled one of the best passing attacks in the nation, holding Jayden de Laura to 241 yards passing with 1 TD and 1 INT.
I think that with the Ducks going into the bye week, Oregon fans probably feel as good about their team as they have all season. So why are the Ducks dropping in the ESPN Power Rankings?
Last week after the win against Stanford, Oregon moved up to No. 11 in the rankings, surpassing their preseason mark for the first time. That number changed despite their 49-22 win over the Wildcats on Saturday. Shockingly, the UCLA Bruins jumped the Ducks after their win over the Utah Utes.
Did that many teams really look better than the Ducks this weekend? I’m not sure. Take a look at where all the Pac-12 teams rank in ESPN’s latest poll: