Ducks Plummet in Josh Pate's Week 3 Power Ranking

Wednesday morning Late Kick host Josh Pate released the Week 3 JP Poll; a power ranking of the Top 25 college football teams based on his proprietary model. After two weeks of play Oregon, which started the year ranked third in the nation, fell to number ten, a considerable dog against the top teams in college football.

As of this early date Georgia, Ohio State and Texas have separated themselves from the pack. Alabama and Tennessee come next at four and five. Number 6 Miami looks to come out of the ACC as a four-seed in a hypothetical look ahead to the playoff, provided their early resurgence behind new transfer quarterback Cam Ward proves to be real.

Among Big Ten teams, the Buckeyes, Penn State at 8 and USC at 9 are all rated ahead of the Ducks. The model loves how the Trojans have awakened the echoes, showing some defensive backbone to go along with their prolific offense in their 2-0 start, wins over LSU, 27-20 and Utah State, 48-0.

About the Ducks, Pate said, "Oregon is down seven total spots from their preseason placement. Like I told you, there is a low-water mark coming for Oregon. This may be it. This may be as low as they go."

"I think there will be a rebound, because I think they're a team that has not come close to fitting its profile yet, so better days are ahead for them in the JP poll."

Pate noted that among the teams rated 6-10, there is a tight grouping, no more than a two-point gap between 6th rated Miami and the Webfoots.

Missouri, 1-1 Clemson, 1-1 LSU, 1-1 Notre Dame and 2-0 Utah comprise the next group of five. Pate's power ranking deviates from the AP Poll and the evaluations thrown up by other pundits.

For the Ducks, this period of the schedule is their get-right opportunity, not to discount the Beavers in a rivalry game where the home team has won every meeting since 2018. Rather it's that Oregon follows Saturday's game with a bye before traveling to UCLA. They have two weeks to address the issues that have plagued them in their narrow wins against teams they were supposed to beat by big scores, offensive line continuity, pass protection, untimely penalties, turnovers and allowing the occasional explosion play on defense.

Executing better in the clash at Corvallis would go a long way toward restoring national confidence in what Dan Lanning is cooking up in Eugene