The College Football Playoff rankings have Oregon in the No. 1 position for the first time in history. Its previous high was No. 2 in 2014, when the Ducks were one of four teams in the inaugural CFP.
But the Ducks (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) still have a ways to go to get to the playoffs, and their final regular-season stretch starts Saturday with their first-ever meeting with Maryland in the conference matchup in Eugene, Ore.
Oregon has wins over two teams in the CFP rankings, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 12 Boise State. The Ducks also defeated Illinois, which was ranked in the Top 25 at the time, and thumped Michigan 38-17 in Ann Arbor last weekend
The Ducks lost two starters to injury against Michigan, including top wide receiver Tez Johnson, whose arm was in a sling. But indications are that Johnson will be back at some point this season, as will starting offensive lineman Marcus Harper II, who was helped off the field with a left knee injury.
The Ducks, who are looking to move to 10-0 for the third time in program annals, would seem to have the pieces in place and the depth to replace both players.
“I’m confident we have a plan,” Lanning told the Eugene Register-Guard. “There’s a lot of guys that can play winning football for us right now. Who that’ll be come Saturday, I’ll leave that for us to figure out in-house, but we’ve got a lot of guys that can play winning football for us, and there will be some guys that will step up like they have all season.”
The Ducks didn’t miss Johnson much after he left the Michigan game early on. Traeshon Holden finished with 149 receiving yards after being disciplined for spitting on an Ohio State player last month.
Oregon has been a complete team this season, with solid defense, a productive running game, the accurate passing of quarterback Dillon Gabriel, and big-play potential on special teams, though not having Johnson could impact that unit.
Maryland (4-4, 1-4) has lost three of its last four games, and is playing a game in the Pacific time zone for the first time since the 2014 Foster Farms Bowl in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Terrapins feature wide receiver Tai Felton, who leads the Big Ten with 73 receptions and 907 receiving yards. With 93 more yards, he can become just the fourth Maryland player ever with 1,000 receiving yards in a single season.
Maryland’s passing attack will look to challenge Oregon’s secondary. The Terrapins rank first in the Big Ten in passing yards per game at 314.5 per game. On the other side of the ball, the defense has allowed 42.3 points per game in their previous three losses, to Indiana, Northwestern and Minnesota.
“We have a good football team, still,” Maryland head coach Michael Locksley said. “I feel pretty confident that this team will show up and be heard.”
