Oregon's fall from No. 2 to out of Playoff race all but complete with loss at Illinois New York Times (Online) Mitch Sherman Oregon was ranked No. 2 in the preseason AP poll, but it's been all but eliminated from College Football Playoff contention in October with a third loss Saturday, 21-10 at unranked Illinois. The Ducks played without star quarterback Dante Moore for a third consecutive game because of a concussion and were shut out in the second half in Champaign. They have now lost to Oklahoma State, UCLA and the Illini. Nebraska transfer Dylan Raiola made his second start at quarterback and finished 27 of 41 for 246 yards with no touchdowns. Oregon outgained Illinois 426 to 314 but converted just 4 of 15 third-down attempts. Its five drives after halftime produced a total of 191 yards and ended in two punts, missed field-goal attempts of 53 and 47 yards and a Hail Mary short of the end zone. Raiola replaced Moore during an Oregon win at USC on Sept. 26 after the returning starter and potential first-round draft pick was hit while sliding and suffered a head injury. Raiola led the Ducks to victory in Los Angeles but has mostly struggled since, despite directing two fourth-quarter scores off the bench in a comeback win against his former team last week. Under coach Dan Lanning, Oregon advanced to the CFP semifinals last season after earning the No. 1 seed in the first 12-team Playoff in 2024 but losing in the quarterfinals. With Moore among many key players back, they were a preseason national championship favorite despite losing coordinators Will Stein (Kentucky) and Tosh Lupoi (Cal) to head coaching jobs. Now a fourth CFP berth in school history appears out of reach as the Ducks sit at 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten. Games against No. 24 Northwestern and at No. 3 Ohio State await over the next two weeks before the Ducks finish with Michigan, Michigan State and Washington. Illinois (4-3, 2-2) rushed for 225 yards and won its first full game without quarterback Katin Houser, who suffered a broken bone in his right hand on Oct. 10 against Michigan State. Freshman Michael Clayton, in place of Houser, directed three touchdown drives after the Illini fell behind 10-0 late in the first half. Another angle of the @IlliniFootball TD where Dixon is able to hang on! pic.twitter.com/utI0ZuRyIQ — FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 24, 2026 Aidan Laughery ripped off a 76-yard run before halftime. Illinois went up on Clayton's third career touchdown pass in the third quarter, and he hit Collin Dixon for a 23-yard strike with 3:35 to play to provide the final margin. Clayton finished 11 of 18 for 84 yards and two TDs. Oregon is now at risk of becoming just the sixth preseason AP top-two team in the past 60 years to finish a season unranked. Penn State did so last year.