Misery Index: Distress for Ducks as Oregon gives away sure win against Stanford

There is no difference in the standings between losing a game and giving one away. Supposedly, they all count the same.

But everyone knows that’s not really true. Some losses count more than others, and for Oregon, the win they let slip away Saturday night was as bad as it gets. Stanford 38, Oregon 31 in overtime is the kind of result that could linger over the program and coach Mario Cristobal for a while, particularly because the Ducks were twice on the doorstep of a triumph that would have instantly solidified their credibility as a Pac 12 force. 

Instead, the Ducks collapsed after leading 24-7. They watched a game they fully controlled late into the third quarter flip entirely in the span of just a few minutes thanks to two fumbles within the shadow of the goal line, the second of which Stanford returned for an 80-yard touchdown. Then, when they had seemingly done enough to hold on, they were undone by an inexplicably poor coaching decision.

Cristobal’s refusal to put the Ducks in victory formation in the closing 90 seconds and instead get one more first down not only was a poor risk-reward assessment but also bad math. Is it more likely your running back will fumble trying to get a first down or that you’ll have a punt blocked and returned for a touchdown with no time left on the clock? Those were the only two ways Oregon could lose. And they did, which puts the Ducks on top of the Misery Index, a weekly measurement of knee-jerk reactions based on what each fan base just watched.  

More:Amway Coaches Poll: Virginia Tech plummets after ODU upset, Kentucky surges to No. 17

More:Winners and losers from college football's Week 4 headlined by Alabama's dominance

FOUR MORE IN MISERY 

Virginia Tech: Hokies fans have taken a journey from the toast of college football to laughingstock in a mere 20 days. After beating Florida State 24-3 in the opener, Virginia Tech looked as if it might be able to author a special season in the mediocre ACC while hosannas were being thrown at the feet of head coach Justin Fuente and defensive coordinator Bud Foster. Now, after a 49-35 loss to Old Dominion (and a full devaluation of the FSU win), Virginia Tech fans are left wondering what happened because this was the kind of performance that shakes your confidence in the program to the core. Old Dominion hadn’t just been bad in the first three weeks, it was the worst team in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Just last week, the Monarchs lost 28-25 to Charlotte, managing 338 yards and throwing back-to-back interceptions in the second half with the game within reach. But somehow, ODU made all the clutch plays this time and racked up 632 yards on Foster’s vaunted defense. Then, a bad 24 hours got worse Sunday when Fuente dismissed defensive end Trevon Hill from the team. Hill, who led the team with 3.5 sacks, continues a string of attrition for the Hokies that started in the summer with defensive backs Mook Reynolds and Adonis Alexander being removed from the team for off-field issues. 

Tennessee: It was actually refreshing to see first-year coach Jeremy Pruitt admit Saturday night after a 47-21 loss to Florida that linebacker Quart’e Sapp refused to go in the game in the third quarter. Media members spotted Pruitt telling Sapp to leave the sideline, and rather than invent a story or say “no comment” like a number of coaches would have, Pruitt acknowledged exactly what happened and said Sapp’s status with the program moving forward is unclear. While that level of insubordination is rather stunning, it underscores just how big of a rebuilding job Pruitt has on his hands - both culturally and on the field. While Tennessee fans may have suspected how bad this team was, the Vols' first-half drive chart was an unprecedented horror show: fumble, interception, turnover on downs, field goal, safety, fumble, fumble, fumble. Then again, if the last decade of Tennessee football hasn’t made fans question their life choices, one avert-your-eyes half isn’t going to move the needle too much. 

Pittsburgh: The textbook example of how not to be an athletic director was authored last December by Heather Lyke when she gave Pat Narduzzi a seven-year contract for reasons that remain largely unknown. At that point, Lyke was relatively new to the program. Narduzzi was coming off a third year in which the Panthers struggled to a 5-7 record and failed to make a bowl game. Even at the peak of his tenure, the Panthers were an 8-5 team that could occasionally upset someone (like Clemson in 2016). Last fall, his name wasn’t coming up in any coaching searches, meaning Narduzzi had no apparent leverage. So why the long extension? “There’s just a confidence that you know that you have the right leader and he’s gonna build it the right way,” Lyke told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “and you’re doing it together.” They’re also going to suffer the oncoming apathy together because Pitt isn’t very good, the fans know Pitt isn’t very good (they knew it long before Saturday’s 38-35 loss to North Carolina), and as much as they want Narduzzi to be on the hot seat, he’s not going anywhere because of that contract he signed just nine months ago. Meanwhile, North Carolina is 2-9 in its last 11 ACC games with both wins against Pitt. 

Nebraska: The most quaint notions of what would happen when Nebraska hired Scott Frost were underscored when athletics director Bill Moos made a fairly incredible proclamation earlier this year about how the Huskers’ prodigal son would shake up the Big Ten. “You’ve got Urban Meyer and Jim Harbaugh thinking, ‘We better put a little more into that Nebraska game coming up.’ And that’s the way we want it,” Moos said. “They’re running a little bit scared right now. And they won’t admit it. We’ll leave that at that.” Though Moos later walked it back a bit as tongue-in-cheek, it probably took about 4 nanoseconds between the time the original quote hit Twitter and the time it went up on Jim Harbaugh’s big board, knowing he would face Nebraska in Week 4. After Michigan 56, Nebraska 10, it's safe to say Michigan isn’t running scared. It’s also safe to say that even though Nebraska fans were bracing for a rebuild, this has been a slow 0-3 start with very few positives to latch onto. You never want the conversation to go from “how many games will Frost win in his first season?” to “Will he win a game?” this quickly. 

TRENDING TOWARD MISERY

Louisville: You have never been able to trust Bobby Petrino to do much aside from scoring points, which is why he can blaze a trail of scorched earth exits from various jobs and still get hired again and again. But if his teams can’t move the ball, what does he really do for you? One of the best offensive minds of his generation is currently ranked 125th in FBS in total offense (284.3 yards per game), which doesn’t reflect well on his preparation for the post-Lamar Jackson era. The program’s fundamental weaknesses were fully on display Saturday in a 27-3 loss at Virginia. 

Oklahoma: The foreboding feeling that you’ve seen this movie before from the Oklahoma defense is slowly creeping back into the consciousness of Sooners fans. No doubt Army is a tricky team to play, but being unable to stop them at all should be a five-alarm fire for head coach Lincoln Riley and defensive coordinator Mike Stoops. The Sooners survived in overtime, 28-21, but gave up 339 rushing yards, 26 first downs and lost the time of possession battle 44:41 to 15:19. Coming one week after Iowa State nicked them for 360 passing yards, it’s official: Stoops’ defense is again likely to prevent a team that has enough offensive firepower to beat anyone from reaching its ceiling. 

Rutgers: At some point, you just run out of answers. Even if Rutgers fans and head coach Chris Ash were inclined to write off a 55-14 loss to Kansas as just an extremely bad day, you have to come back the next week and change the conversation with something, anything resembling a competency. Instead, the Scarlet Knights got slammed 42-13 by Buffalo to fall to 1-3, putting up just 284 yards of offense. The question now is whether the abyss gets deeper, if that’s even possible. At this point, membership in the Big Ten just seems like cruel and unusual punishment for everyone, most of all the Rutgers players. But hey, at least Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany was able to secure those New York/New Jersey cable subscribers.

Kansas State: The fear that 78-year old Bill Snyder is going to hang on too long at Kansas State and drag the entire program down with him is real in Manhattan. And it might be coming true before our very eyes. In two games against ranked teams this year, the Wildcats have been out-scored 66-16 and only mustered six points Saturday against West Virginia despite having a plus-3 turnover margin. Losing longtime offensive coordinator Dana Dimel to UTEP has proven to be disastrous for Kansas State, which has usually found ways to remain competitive against more talented teams. That doesn’t seem like the case anymore. 

Illinois: Early in the third quarter Friday night, Illinois led Penn State 24-21. It was undoubtedly the high point of the Lovie Smith era, which has otherwise been both bad and boring (He’s 7-21 overall and 2-17 in the Big Ten). Then Penn State proceeded to score six touchdowns in the span of 25 minutes, underscoring why few people outside of Champaign think there's much progress being made. 

TOTALLY REAL AND IRRATIONAL MESSAGE BOARD THREADS 

“Fuente/Foster loss to ODU like Clark/Darden loss in OJ case..shocking” - techsideline.com (Virginia Tech)

“Nebraska should never have left the Big 12” - huskeronline.com 

“Bobby is tanking for Jurich” - insidetheville.com (Louisville)

“Pruitt has lost this team” - volnation.com (Tennessee)

“I’m definitely questioning this hire. This is pathetic, and yes, we are average” - elitedawgs.com (Mississippi State)