Oregon
Projected college football rankings after Oregon avoids travel curse and BYU survives
While you were sleeping, a pair of top-15 teams for wins on Friday night to really start Week 8 of the 2024 college football season off with a bang. No. 2 Oregon had very little issues dealing with the pitiful Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade. The Ducks left West Lafayette with a breezy 35-0 shutout of Ryan Walter’s football team, who now falls to 1-6 overall and 0-4 in Big Ten play. Oregon is now 7-0!
Although it remains to be seen if Oregon has a shot at No. 1 in the next college football rankings, BYU could see the Cougars fall from No. 13. While they did get a 38-35 victory over Oklahoma State on Friday night, that game was in Provo. Then again, beating a Mike Gundy team that is coming off a bye is almost as impressive as beating an Andy Reid team that is coming off a bye, for what that is worth.
Let’s see if either game featuring a ranked opponent on Friday will impact the projected rankings.
- Texas Longhorns
- Oregon Ducks
- Penn State Nittany Lions
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Miami Hurricanes
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- LSU Tigers
- Iowa State Cyclones
- Clemson Tigers
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- BYU Cougars
- TExas A&M Aggies
- Boise State Broncos
- Indiana Hoosiers
- Kansas State Wildcats
- Ole Miss Rebels
- Missouri Tigers
- Pittsburgh Panthers
- SMU Mustangs
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- Army Black Knights
- Michigan Wolverines
- Navy Midshipmen
Even though Oregon has a case to be No. 1 next week should Georgia beat Texas in Austin, the Ducks beat a team with one win on the year. The Ducks are not going to be ranked any lower than No. 2 next week. As far as BYU is concerned, the Cougars might be 7-0, but it feels like the Associated Press is looking for any evidence to downgrade this Big 12 contender. It could happen, but they will stay put.
It is because we have a full slate of games ahead of us on Saturday that will really impact the rankings.
Right now, Oregon looks like the best bet in the Power Four to go undefeated this season. Texas is the only team that has not lost yet in the SEC, but that conference is already starting to cannibalize. BYU will have a legitimate shot of getting to Arlington unscathed, but the Cougars could face their equal in the Big 12 title bout. Who that ends up being remains to be seen, Iowa State or someone else entirely.
Overall, Oregon feels like a lock to make the College Football Playoff, while BYU is very much on the bubble. This is because the Big Ten will be getting in between three and four teams this season. Oregon will be a top-three team in its league by the end of the season. While BYU may be a top-two team in the Big 12, the league might not be strong enough to get multiple teams into the playoff.
Ultimately, Oregon’s win over Purdue was impressive, while BYU getting all that it could handle from Oklahoma State was a tad concerning. The Pokes might be having a year from hell, but conversely, everything that could go BYU’s way this season has gone the Cougars’ way. It will all even out in the end. Then again, there is a chance that we may be watching the best BYU team since what, 1984?
Oregon will remain top-two, while BYU will remain top-15 no matter what after this weekend’s games.
dark. Next. Worst team in each P4 league who can make the CFP. Worst team in each P4 league who can make the CFP
The good times keep on rolling for the Oregon Ducks in the recruiting world. Dan Lanning and the Ducks scored a massive commitment from five-star quarterback Will Mencl out of Chandler, Arizona.
Oregon had been rumored to be leading the race for Mencl’s services for months, but the No. 1 quarterback in the country, per Rivals, cleared the air and committed to the Ducks on Wednesday evening. Mencl chose the Ducks over Auburn and Penn State, both of which battled hard for him down the stretch.
However, Mencl has been connected to Oregon for a long time. While he was offered last fall before breaking out in his junior season, Mencl has been a fan of the program long before he popped up on the Ducks’ recruiting radar. In a post shared by Rivals recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong, Mencl was announced as a quarterback for the Ducks when he was a kid at the 2019 NFL Draft fan experience in 2019.
Now, Mencl is ready to don the green and yellow for real and make his childhood dreams come true. The Ducks have made a point to get Mencl on campus as often as possible and as recently as last week. The continued connection between both sides is ultimately what made the decision easy for the nation’s top passer. Mencl said he told Lanning and the Oregon staff about his decision on Sunday.
“The biggest thing was the relationship with the staff,” Mencl said after committing. “I feel like that continued to grow over time, especially when I first got there last spring. Being able to sit down with Coach Koa, really being an underlooked guy at that time, and kind of blowing up my junior season. And then, the path to the NFL. You can’t deny what they do with quarterbacks and the type of scheme they run. I felt like that was the best fit for me and my family to get to the next level.”
Koa Ka’ai, Oregon’s new quarterback coach, made waves earlier in the offseason after his recruiting test about ice cream flavors went viral, but that doesn’t appear to have scared Mencl off. In fact, the two have a close connection that Oregon hopes will translate to success on the field in the near future.
“My relationship with Coach Koa, I feel like that is super, super strong,” Mencl told Rivals. “I’ve had a lot of discussions with Coach Lanning about the culture there and how they’re going to continue to sustain greatness throughout the program.”
Mencl exploded onto the national recruiting scene with a massive junior season for Chandler. He completed more than 70% of his passes for 3,815 yards and 33 touchdowns against five interceptions in his junior season, leading Chandler to a state title berth. He also rushed for 741 yards and an additional 17 touchdowns.
The Ducks expect to have some competition for Mencl to compete with when he joins the team for the 2027 season, with Dylan Raiola and Akili Smith Jr. already on the roster and competing for a role as the backup. Oregon has gone to the transfer portal as well in recent seasons, finding success with Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and now Dante Moore.
Oregon has recruited well at quarterback in the past, establishing an NFL pedigree that attracted Mencl. Maybe he will be the one to buck the trend and give the Ducks a true, homegrown product under center.
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‘Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,’ a Wine Enthusiast contributor said of an Oregon wine
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Wine Enthusiast released a list of the top 40 sparkling wines around the world in 2026 – highlighting two bottles of bubbly from Oregon.
“While it can seem like you need a fortune to enjoy high quality sparkling wine, you honestly don’t. Excellent affordable bubbles are being produced around the world, often in places you might not expect. Each of the selections on our inaugural Top 40 Sparkling Wines list delivers personality, freshness, and celebration for under $75,” Wine Enthusiast wrote.
Wine Enthusiast divided its list into separate sparkling categories including, Champagne, Italian Bollicine, American sparkling and bottles $25 and under.
Snagging a spot on the American sparkling list: Corollary Wines in McMinnville.
Corollarly’s 2021 Momtazi Carbonic Rosé Pinot Noir scored 96 points from Wine Enthusiast.
“This is a Peter Max print of a wine, with vivid aromas and flavors to match the wine’s electric Kool-Aid color. It is filled to the brim with aromas and flavors of macerated strawberries, candied rose petals, apricots, and a bitter note similar to watermelon rind. Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,” wrote Wine Enthusiast contributor Michael Alberty.
The second Oregon winery to earn a spot on the list: Lytle-Barnett in Dundee.
Wine Enthusiast also gave Lytle-Barnett’s 2018 Brut Rosé Pinot Noir Chardonnay 96 points.
“Bubbles as persistent as an eight-year-old with a question deliver aromas of dried rose petals, macerated strawberries, and a touch of fresh hay and talc. This 70/30 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blend is packed with flavors of lemon zest, Honeycrisp apple slices drizzled in caramel, and a dollop of raspberry,” Alberty wrote.
The nods to Corollary and Lytle-Barnett come as the wineries recently helped launch Method Oregon, a nonprofit made up of 50 Oregon wineries aiming to turn Oregon into a global sparkling wine destination.
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