Greg McElroy explains bumping Oregon up to No. 2 in his Top 25

After Oregon‘s dominant 69-3 win over Oklahoma State on Saturday, ESPN’s Greg McElroy moved the Ducks up three spots in his rankings to No. 2 in the country. On Wednesday, McElroy explained the rationale behind his decision.

“They had the most impressive win of Week 2, just a complete record-setting blowout against a team that’s in the Power Four,” McElroy said. “People will sit there, ‘Well, Oklahoma State is not very good.’ Just watch the level of execution. Watch the athleticism. The quarterback was a question mark coming into the season. I think he’s a legitimate strength.

“Look at the weaponry that’s starting to emerge. Look at how they tee off defensively. Look how uncomfortable Oklahoma State was from start to finish in that game. So, we had Oregon No. 5 last week. That, I thought, was a pretty good place for them to be. I now move them all the way up to No. 2, with a resounding and dominant Week 2 performance.”

Oregon steamrolled over the Cowboys, racking up 631 total yards of offense, almost three times more than Oklahoma State’s 211. As McElroy mentioned, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore was impressive, completing 16-of-his-21 pass attempts for 266 yards and three touchdowns, without throwing an interception.

Oregon’s defense was equally impressive. The Ducks squeezed two turnovers out of Oklahoma State, both of which were interceptions they returned for scores. Moreover, they only allowed Cowboys QB Zane Flores to complete seven of his 19 pass attempts.

The loss was the largest margin of defeat for Oklahoma State during head coach Mike Gundy‘s 20-year tenure. While the AP voters didn’t reward the Ducks with the No. 2 ranking in the country, they weren’t far off.

Oregon improved two spots to land at No. 4 in this week’s AP Top 25. Lanning only expects his team to continue to build on their momentum.

“I get excited when I think we play like to the level that we’re capable of playing,” Lanning said. “And you might not realize you’re looking at it. There are still some moments that I certainly went back. We had five penalties in the first half. The second half, we had one, right? So, like, there’s more we could do. That’s our standard of play. But, it’s fun to win, right?”

On Saturday, Oregon will look to have some more fun as the Ducks square off against Northwestern at 9 a.m. PT. The game will air live on FOX.