Oregon's win against Michigan State makes a national statement

Oregon might be ready to step into the spotlight.

After a disappointing 2013, the No. 3 Ducks came into Saturday’s marquee matchup against No. 7 Michigan State looking for redemption and found it in the form of a 46-27 come-from-behind win.

The win was Oregon’s first home victory against a top 10 team since beating No. 9 Stanford on Oct. 2, 2010.

While the victory doesn’t guarantee Oregon a spot in the College Football Playoff, it does give the Ducks an inside track and makes them the team to watch, especially with an easier schedule than some of the other favorites for playoff spots.

Oregon trailed Michigan State 27-18 early in the third quarter and was clearly on its heels after allowing the Spartans to score 24 unanswered points. But after a couple defensive stops, the Ducks found their rhythm on offense and scored 21 consecutive points in a blur of about five minutes and left Michigan State wondering what happened.

Meanwhile, the Oregon defense, which had been abused by the Michigan State offense in the first half, clamped down and gave the Spartans nothing with which to work; it shut them out for most of the half.

Michigan State’s defeat marks the second disappointing loss in a marquee game for the Big Ten Conference in as many weeks. Wisconsin had a 17-7 halftime lead against LSU and lost 28-24 during the opening weekend.

The Spartans don’t have a lot of strong games remaining on its schedule and the Big Ten has struggled as a conference in the first couple weeks of the season. It’s going to be tough, now, for the Spartans to make a case for a spot in the four-team playoff.

As for Oregon, the Pac-12 looks strong, and the Ducks can draw on the way they won this game if they get into any binds. They’re fortunate they don’t play USC or Arizona State, which look like two of the best teams in the South Division, and the game against Stanford looks a little less daunting after the Cardinal lost to USC earlier in the day.

For more Oregon news, visit DuckSportsAuthority.com.

For more Michigan State news, visit SpartanMag.com.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday

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