Oregon's Path to the College Football Playoff Is Clear But Not Easy

The Oregon Ducks took care of business in one of the hardest spots in the entire country on Saturday. They went into Ohio Stadium and left with one of the most lopsided victories you'll ever see the Buckeyes take on their home field.

Because of their efforts, they have been rewarded justly in the rankings this week. 

In the second version of the College Football Playoff rankings, the Ducks climbed 7 spots all the way up from 23 to 16 in the rankings. 

The bubble on the bracket is right at the 11th spot to get into the playoffs because of the group of 6 at-large bids. That team is currently the Boise State Broncos, who are ranked No. 24. 

For the Ducks, the path to the playoffs is there in front of them, but it will not be easy. Two things are going to have to happen for Oregon. They are obviously going to have to win out and finish the year with just three losses, and then, in front of them, some things are going to have to shake up.

Oregon is the top-ranked three-loss team, which is a deserved spot for them, but it's going to be really hard to get them into the 11th spot. Ahead of them are three two-loss teams and two one-loss teams. It will be nearly impossible for them to leapfrog a one-loss team, and it would be hard to justify putting a three-loss team over a two-loss team, but it can be debated.

The highest two loss team is the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide (make that make sense), the No. 6 Texas Longhorns and the No. 8 Tennessee Volunteers. Each of those teams needs to get to four losses for them to get kicked out of the Playoff, which is unlikely for all three.

It gets interesting at spots 9, 10, and 11 as the Indiana Hoosiers got some pretty bad news on Tuesday night. They probably can't afford to take a loss the rest of the year. If they do, they are likely out of the Playoff, which is bad for the Ducks. 

They would jump either BYU or Kentucky if either of those teams took their third loss. However, the biggest concerns are right in front of them with Iowa, Wake Forest, and Texas Tech. They will likely need all three of those teams to take a loss for Oregon to leap them. 

Again, very unlikely. 

The path for Oregon is there. They need to win out, and then they need some- no, they need a lot of help to get into the top 11. They will continue to do what they need to do each and every Saturday and hope for the best.