The Oregon Ducks didn’t play this weekend, but they climbed one spot in the AP Poll anyways. Oregon is up from No. 9 last week to No. 8 this week, and their ranking is more than fair.
If you’re looking for a hot take, you’re not going to find one here. There’s no outrage, no overreaction, no pounding the table with a gavel and yelling at the Associated Press about Oregon being too high or too low in the ranking.
They’re exactly where I would rank them.
The biggest shakeup near the top of the AP Poll was Missouri narrowly escaping against Vanderbilt with a 30-27 win in double overtime. That game was enough to drop them four spots down to No. 11, allowing Miami, Oregon, and Penn State to move up a spot.
Let’s look at the teams around Oregon and why they rank where they do, starting with Miami, who looks like an absolute wagon right now.
Miami (7)
Miami, ranked No. 7 in the latest poll, is coming off a 50-15 dominant victory over University of South Florida, and they have plenty to be excited about on both sides of the ball, starting with former Pac-12 quarterback and now Heisman Trophy frontrunner Cam Ward , who transferred down to south beach from Washington State.
In his previous two seasons, Ward had shown flashes, averaging 278.7 passing yards, 1.92 passing touchdowns, and .64 interceptions per game. Now in Miami, Ward has erupted, and is currently the Heisman frontrunner with 359.8 passing yards, 3.5 touchdowns, and 0.5 interceptions per game. He’s completing over 72% of his passes and has thrown for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns in all four games this season. He’s playing out of his mind.