Los Angeles Comparing performance across time periods and with college football’s constantly changing postseason rules would only be attempted by an idiot or a newspaper columnist.
As one or both of those things, depending on your point of view, I shall nevertheless make an effort, if only to make a dramatic and relatively emphatic statement.
It’s this: Oregon will be firmly established as the best team in Oregon history if they defeat Ohio State in Wednesday’s College Football Playoff quarterfinal.
You see, stupid?
I might be the one to inform you that comparison is the thief of happiness on another day. that on-field success is devalued by this kind of foolishness. that every achievement ought to be honored and valued in its own right.
The teams from 2001, 2010, 12, and 14 are all stand-alone performers. If anything, the success of Joey Harrington, Daron Thomas, or Marcus Mariotaas should not be lessened by Dillon Gabriel’s.
But with so much riding on this Rose Bowl game against Ohio State, I think we are so focused on this Oregon squad that it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture.
I once maintained that a national title would be the ultimate goal, but I think both of these statements can be accurate. The Ducks should win the national championship in the framework of this season. If they fail, it will be a little price to be known as the best squad in school history.
With this group of guys, everyone should anticipate more this season. When will they win the championship if not now?
Despite playing in a supposedly more difficult conference, the Ducks have already amassed more victories than any previous squad. No Oregon team has ever won 13 games, much less done so flawlessly. They have already defeated the CFP quarterfinalists three times, including victories in Michigan and Wisconsin.
Does it make them, by your definition, a better team than the one that Thomas led to defeat Auburn by a field goal? Or the one Mariota led to defeat Florida State and Jameis Winston in the semifinals?
Or the one that lost to Stanford in overtime and ended 12-1 in the last BCS year?
Without seeing how the club does in the postseason, I would say it’s difficult to give Dan Lanning’s team that type of credit.
That’s where the logical fallacy enters the picture, though. where the structure begins to break down.
When the 12-team playoff system we currently have might theoretically require its champion to win up to five postseason games, including a conference championship game, how can you compare success under a system that granted a national championship based on a single postseason game as the BCS did?
They cannot be compared.
But here I am once more…
On the one hand, winning a national title is all that Oregon’s program needs to do. That’s all. That is their final frontier and the one thing that would propel the Ducks farther.
We can avoid any hair-splitting if the Ducks do it on January 20. They will unquestionably become the most famous football team in Oregon history.
Conversely, defeating the Buckeyes on Wednesday ought to propel them there nevertheless. With four victories over CFP quarterfinalists and two against Ohio State, the Ducks will be 14-0 and the Big Ten champs.
Is there a squad in Oregon history with a more impressive resume?
Yes, I am aware. Additionally, no team in Oregon history had a wage budget comparable to Lanning’s. Isn’t that a good problem to have?
After losing players like Gabriel, Evan Stewart, Jordan Burch, Matayo Uiagalelei, and Jabbar Muhammad, the Ducks have assembled a superteam and appear ready to add more elite players.
As Lanning memorably stated back in July, this team is not only very different, but the resources and conditions are also quite different. 2024 college football will resemble 2014 college football just as much as 2014 college football resembled high school tennis. In sports, we want precise facts and arguments. In a college football environment that varies every year, if not every week, that might be asking for too much. Selecting the best team may be like selecting a favorite child for an Oregonian, and I appreciate that. However, I’ll be satisfied if the Ducks defeat Ohio State a second time to make it 14-0. In the history of the school, they will be the greatest team.
The remainder won’t be gravy, though.
I’m not a complete idiot; I know the ultimate prize is still up for grabs.
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