Another ESPN Analyst Believes Oregon Deserves Chance in College Football Playoffs

As things currently stand heading into this game against Michigan, Oregon finds itself in perhaps one of the more interesting positions in all of college football.

Currently ranked 16th overall in the College Football Playoff race, the Ducks have a real opportunity to not only make the College Football Playoff, but even a chance to compete for a Big Ten title if a couple of things go their way.

There's so much that has to happen over the next three or so weeks for Oregon to figure out what it's going to be, and obviously, as crazy as it might sound, the focus isn't even on the Big Ten title game. 

As long as Oregon can find a way into the College Football Playoff, it has to feel like it has an opportunity to compete at a very high level. 

While this roster has shown some flaws throughout the year, and there is certainly an argument that Oregon hasn't played great football throughout parts of the campaign, this is still an ultra-talented team that has a chance to beat anybody in the country on any given day. 

The one thing that Oregon has to hope for is that some teams lose in front of it, and with how crazy this college football season has gone, it almost feels like a guarantee that a couple of those teams are going to drop some games. 

Whether the committee still wants to put a three-loss Oregon team in remains to be seen, but one ESPN analyst believes that Oregon should be even higher than its number 16 ranking.

“To be honest with you, with Oregon sitting there at 16, I thought it was a little too low,” ESPN analyst Greg McElroy said, H/T On3. “It’s just crazy that we’re saying this, and yes they lost at Illinois, yes they lost close to UCLA. This is a team that was in flux with their quarterback situation for a while and they’ve now figured it out…

“They’ve played a top-nine strength of schedule,” McElroy added. “You have a win against what is likely a playoff-bound Boise State team. You have a win at Ohio State, you have a win at USC. Those are two wins on the road against teams that are currently in the top 20, and you have a win against Boise. I mean that’s a pretty good resume right now.”

I don't think anybody would disagree with Oregon being in the playoffs, at least from a standpoint that other teams didn't do the job that they had to to ensure that Oregon was going to be out. However, I know for a fact that some are going to question the Ducks getting in because of those three losses.

However, not all losses are created equal. 

Oregon also has some very good wins, and while people might want to discredit the Ohio State one, going into Ohio State and beating the Buckeyes is a very challenging task. It doesn't matter who's under center for them, as Ohio State's one of the best teams in the country year in and year out. Even that loss against Oklahoma State doesn't look nearly as bad as it did at the time.