Oregon sits only behind Alabama for the title of “Best One-Loss Team in America.” That’s if we’re basing things on the College Football Playoff rankings. The CFP selection committee placed the Ducks eighth in their first set of rankings, released Tuesday.

The Ducks have to keep winning, of course. But if we get to the end and the Ducks have just that one blemish on the résumé, it’ll make for quite the debate.

Oregon’s lone loss so far came in Week 1 to Georgia. The game was in Atlanta, sure — a neutral site matchup in name only. The game was Oregon’s first under a new coaching staff with double-digit transfer players in new roles, sure. The game was against the defending champs, sure.

But it was also as lopsided a loss as you’ll find among the Playoff contenders. Georgia won 49-3. Pundits have suggested that loss will keep the Ducks out of the CFP conversation when it comes down to it.

I asked the CFP chair Boo Corrigan on a teleconference call Tuesday night how he balances that ugly loss with what has been a spectacular run of wins since.

“The win over UCLA has gone a long way,” he said. “They’ve scored at least 41 points since that game. Bo Nix has had a great season. … As we looked at it, obviously that initial game, but what they’ve been able to do since that time has really turned the committee’s head.”

Oregon has won seven straight, topping 41 points each time.

They have wins over Eastern Washington (70-14), BYU (41-20), Washington State (44-41), Stanford (45-27), Arizona (49-22), UCLA (45-30) — who the CFP committee ranked 12th in its initial rankings — and Cal (42-24). Four of those wins saw Duck leads of at least 28 points throughout.

Quarterback Bo Nix, in his first season with the program, ranks second nationally with 31 total touchdowns in eight games.

The question for the Ducks becomes whether they can play their way into the conversation or if a team ahead of them has to play themselves out.

Still, Oregon will have a chance as the season closes out to add more strength to its résumé. The Ducks still have games against Washington, No. 23 Oregon State, and No. 14 Utah in the regular season. They could meet No. 9 USC in the Pac-12 title game as well.