AP Top 25: Oregon moves up in latest media poll after dramatic win over Washington State
There is only one one-loss team ranked higher than the Oregon Ducks in the latest AP Top 25 poll. And that team will have to come to Eugene later this season. It would seem the pollsters have a ton of respect for the work coach Dan Lanning and this Oregon team has done to rebound from a Week 1 loss.
On the heels of a dramatic 44-41 win over Washington State Saturday, the Ducks moved up two spots to No. 13 in the latest media poll, released on Sunday.
Only Penn State and Utah sit between the Ducks and a spot in the AP Top 10. USC remains the highest-ranked Pac-12 team, sitting at No. 6 in the poll.
Lanning and the Ducks return to Autzen Stadium this upcoming week to welcome Stanford (1-2, 0-2 Pac-12) to Eugene. Kickoff in the game is set for 8 p.m. PT on FS1.
On the surface, it looks like a slight reprieve for an Oregon team that has faced some stiff tests through the first four weeks of the season.
The Ducks played Georgia to open the campaign; the Bulldogs remain the No. 1 team in America, securing 55 of 59 first-place votes. Then they faced BYU in Week 3, which sits at No. 19 in the current poll after beating Wyoming over the weekend. Washington State is receiving the fourth-most votes of any team outside the Top 25 even after a loss.
Behind a dizzying performance from quarterback Cameron Ward, the Cougars gave the Ducks all they could handle in Pullman. Washington State led 34-22 as the game clock ticked under seven minutes to play.
Oregon would score 22 unanswered points over the final six minutes and change to completely flip the game and escape with a win.
With a bye week coming up soon, Oregon could crack the AP Top 10 before it welcomes UCLA to town on Oct. 22.
Utah faces Oregon State, UCLA, and USC in its next three games. That Oct. 15 contest between the Utes and Trojans in Salt Lake City could be an avenue for Oregon to slide into a position of power in the league as long as it just keeps handling its business.
Here’s how the rest of the AP Top 25 looks ahead of Week 5:
- Georgia
- Alabama
- Ohio State
- Michigan
- Clemson
- USC
- Kentucky
- Tennessee
- Oklahoma State
- North Carolina State
- Penn State
- Utah
- Oregon
- Ole Miss
- Washington
- Baylor
- Texas A&M
- Oklahoma
- BYU
- Arkansas
- Minnesota
- Wake Forest
- Florida State
- Pittsburgh
- Kansas State