While most college football fans were watching the clash of the titans between Alabama and Texas A&M on Saturday, Oregon was busy proving that it might be the best team in the country.
The Ducks beat up Tennessee 59-14 in Eugene, handing the Vols their worst loss since a 48-0 defeat to Mississippi State in 1910.
And you thought the ending to the Phil Fulmer era was bad?
Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota threw for career-high 456 yards and four touchdowns. Like UCLA and Alabama, the Ducks fell behind early and did a ton of damage in come-from-behind fashion. After starting off down 7-0, they scored 59 straight points. They were crushing Tennessee so badly their third-string players were into the game in the fourth quarter.
Oregon put up 686 yards compared to just 316 for Tennessee. They threw for 470 while the Vols only had 138 passing yards.
Oregon has gone 3-0 and outscored their opponents 184-27. Things will get tough for them in October. They’re at Washington, home against Washington State, home against UCLA, and at Stanford in a four-game stretch. I think they’ll lose one of those games.
As for Tennessee, well, things don’t get much rosier for Butch Jones’ bunch. They host Georgia, South Carolina, and they’re at Alabama in a brutal October.
