Dan Mullen Makes Bold Prediction for Oregon’s First Loss

Everything seems to be going the way of the No. 1-ranked Oregon Ducks.

Since a 49-14 Week 3 win over Oregon State, Oregon has been blowing out opponents and it pulled off a big upset win over then-No. 2-ranked Ohio State two weeks ago that catapulted the team to its top ranking.

With the Ducks’ clash against No. 20 Illinois on Saturday, the rest of their season, which includes games against four unranked teams in Michigan, Maryland, Wisconsin and Washington, seems to be an easy road to the College Football Playoff.

But former head coach-turned ESPN analyst Dan Mullen believes somewhere along the way, Oregon is due for a letdown.

“It is hard to go undefeated in the regular season,” Mullen said on Friday , via On3. “You have got to bring your A-game every single week. … Remember, early in the season, they weren’t clicking on all cylinders. So I think as this goes on, and it wears down, the mental fatigue, the injuries that you get beat up as the season goes on, there is a chance they lose a game.”

If Mullen is correct, the odds favor that loss coming against Illinois.

The Fighting Illini are 6-1 this season with wins over three previously ranked teams — Kansas, Nebraska and Michigan — and their only loss came in a 21-7 defeat to No. 3 Penn State.

The combined record of Oregon’s final four opponents is just 17-11 and the best win any of those teams have is arguably Washington’s 27-17 victory over Michigan two weeks ago when the Wolverines were ranked No. 10 (they’ve since lost two in a row and are just 4-3 this season.)

“When you look at that schedule and say, ‘OK, where is it?’ I’m not sure,” Mullen continued. “But anytime you’re going on the road in November, in the Big Ten, those are tough environments. [They have] a Rivalry game to finish the season. It’s going to be really interesting. I think they end up with one loss.”

Related: Ranking CFB’s 9 Undefeated Teams by Likelihood to Finish 12-0