Oregon's College Football Playoff hopes get extinguished with 21-10 loss at Illinois

Oregon’s 2026 season is quickly becoming a disaster.Any hope of the Ducks sneaking into the College Football Playoff with a streak of late-season wins likely disappeared with a 21-10 loss to an Illinois team that was missing starting quarterback Katin Houser. Freshman Michael Clayton II started in Houser’s place and found Collin Dixon for the game-sealing touchdown with less than three minutes to go.It was a fantastic juggling catch by Dixon, who got control of the ball before he hit the ground. Oregon played its third straight game without starting quarterback Dante Moore after his concussion against USC. The Ducks were also missing four of their top five wide receivers due to injury.What a catch from Collin Dixon to extend Illinois' lead! pic.twitter.com/sGUejsx6hC— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 24, 2026But this is also an Oregon team that was built for a national title run and should have the depth to win a game on the road like this. Former five-star recruit Dylan Raiola transferred from Nebraska and entered the season as Moore’s backup after two years as the Huskers’ starter. He played so poorly in the Ducks’ loss to UCLA that he didn’t start in Week 7 against Nebraska, though he entered the game for Brock Thomas in the second half and led Oregon on its game-winning drive.Saturday, Oregon’s downfield passing attack was nonexistent until it was desperation time. That was against an Illinois defense that was so bad to start the season that it parted ways with first-year coordinator (and former Montana head coach) Bobby Hauck just four games into the season.