Is Oregon out of the College Football Playoff? Ducks on brink of elimination after stunning loss to UCLA

No. 13 Oregon had two shots to tie No. 21 UCLA with a two-point conversion at Autzen Stadium on Saturday. 

Quarterback Brock Thomas was stuffed on the first play – but the Ducks got a second chance after a face-mask penalty. Running back Jordon Davison, however, was stopped short on the second attempt. A desperation drive in the final seconds fell short, too. 

How many more chances will Oregon (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) get now? That will be the question when it comes to the College Football Playoff race after the Bruins (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) upset the Ducks 17-15 on Saturday. Oregon, which opened the AP Preseason Poll at No. 2 under coach Dan Lanning, is in real danger of missing the postseason all together. That seemed unthinkable given the Ducks' track record of success in the Big Ten the last two seasons.

MORE: UCLA stays unbeaten, has reasonable path to CFP

How much trouble is Oregon in now? 

Is Oregon out of the College Football Playoff after losing to UCLA? 

The Ducks have reached the two-loss threshold, and there is zero margin of error after the loss to the Bruins, which improved to 5-0 under first-year coach Bob Chesney. The showdown between Oregon and UCLA, which started as a matchup between five-star quarterbacks Dylan Raiola and Nico Iamaleava and ended as a battle of backup QBs in Thomas and Ty Dieffenbach. 

Raiola (6 of 19, 43 yards, 2 INTs) had a dreadful performance in place of Dante Moore, who suffered a concussion in the 41-27 victory against USC on Sept. 28. Thomas (11 of 15, 156 yards, TD) led a rally, but Oregon managed just 27 carries for 73 rushing yards – an average of 2.7 yards per carry. The Ducks had seven turnovers – and this could have been much worse. 

You add that to the 39-31 loss to Oklahoma State in Week 2 – a game where Oregon allowed 554 total yards – and it's tough to consider the Ducks a playoff contender. You can only give so much forgiveness for those losses.

How does Dante Moore injury factor into Oregon's argument? 

Would Oregon have won the game with Moore? That's a debate for the College Football Playoff committee if the Ducks work back into the playoff conversation. The committee does factor player injuries in those discussions, but how far will that carry? 

Raiola had played well in the victory against USC and had a bye week to prepare for UCLA. The Bruins are a great story under Chesney, but they also were double-digit underdogs. This is a game Oregon was supposed to win. 

Oregon's remaining schedule 

Here is the problem. Oregon's remaining schedule might not feature another ranked team with the exception of No. 5 Ohio State – a road game on Nov. 7 that will seal the Ducks' fate either way. A three-loss Ducks' team has zero chance of getting in no matter how much carnage awaits in Big Ten play. 

These are hypothetical arguments, too. UCLA and No. 20 Iowa (5-1, 2-1) are among the Big Ten hopefuls ahead of the Ducks in that CFP race now. 

Remaining Oregon schedule