Gladiators prove their value again

College football has maybe never had a more exciting season at mid-seaon

_{The Colosseum in Rome was built in the first Century CE, but never hosted events with a grass infield. Even the NFL has not made that happen yet.}

Are we not entertained as college football fans this fall?

Think back to the first week when the dominating event was the added last-second that saved Michigan from losing to Western Michigan.

This weekend, five of the top seven teams lost on the same day for the first time ever, and the term NIL-equity is starting to build some resonance because there have been so many upsets and only a handful of teams - six - remain unbeaten (including unranked James Madison).

In Oregon, where the Ducks started at No. 2 in the national polls, the season has gone almost completely haywire. Oregon lost its NFL-caliber quarterback to a concussion in Game 4, then nearly suffered a potential program-altering loss to Nebraska just Saturday before squeezing out a 17-14 win.

Oregon State, meanwhile, put up truly gutsy efforts in losses to start the season, and now is one of the brightest stories that hasn't been identified by national media on the way to a 5-2 record. Freshman Jesse Legree is a top contender for the Heisman Trophy as is sophomore quarterback Braden Atkinson.

If only the Ducks and Beavers played each other this season. Stupid Big 10 money.

Maybe they'll meet in the College Football Playoffs.

If both teams win out, why wouldn't they get invited? Even if James Madison wins out (and why wouldn't they?), both the Ducks and Beavers would have wins over ranked teams, while JMU would not being in the demure Sun Belt Conference. Of Course, JMU has a bit of recent legacy, and DID play in the 2025 CFP - a loss to Oregon, in fact.

But, OSU would have a win over Boise State, and Oregon would have a win over Ohio State if they all their remaining regular season games, and both would likely play in their conference championship game.

If that happens, they why wouldn't they just win those title games? No reason at all. So, CFP, here Oregon comes with two reps.

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Cliff Pfenning

Cliff is a lifelong resident of Oregon and has four decades of experience as a writer, photographer, videographer, broadcaster and now producer. He's a grad of Benson High in Portland and the University of Oregon. His writing background includes stints at The Oregonian, The Register-Guard, The News-Review in Roseburg, The Portland Tribune, The Portland Observer as well as regular contributions to The Medford Mail-Tribune and Willamette Week. He was set to be a content provider for Action Sports Cable Network if it had began operations in 2000. He also has taught sports broadcasting through the high school program at KBPS in Portland.

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