Oregon Ducks’ three keys to victory over Texas Tech in CFP

The Oregon Ducks will begin 2026 with arguably their toughest battle of the season in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Ducks played four ranked teams during the regular season, and all but one of those games were within 10 points.

The Red Raiders rank in the top 10 in the nation in both total offense and total defense, so there is really no real, glaring weaknesses to exploit on the team. However, they did lose one game this season, and it was to an unranked team, so we know this team is beatable, even if they rank highly in essentially every category.

The Ducks slipped a little bit in the second half of last week’s game, but before that it seemed like they were playing their best ball at the right time. The offense is rolling right now, so if the defense can put together an entire game like the first half, then this game against Texas Tech has the potential to be a classic. Let’s see what Oregon needs to do to come out on the right side of history.

Own the Ball

When a team has only lost one game all season, it feels necessary to try and replicate that game plan. The Arizona State Sun Devils pulled off the improbable victory over Texas Tech by a combination of keeping the ball out of harm’s way and keeping it for as long as possible.

They won the time of possession battle by nearly 15 minutes, and luckily the Ducks have an elite rushing attack that can take the air out of a defense. It was an air attack in the playoff opener for Will Stein’s unit, but Noah Whittington and the running back room have carried the offensive load for the majority of the season.

If Oregon can keep Texas Tech’s offense off the field then they can maximize their chances of winning.

Hold on Tight

Another key aspect of Arizona State’s victory was winning the turnover battle. This is something that Dan Lanning has stressed all season long and stealing a couple extra possessions from the Red Raiders could go a long way toward a victory. Both of those teams have some of the best defenses in the country, so the turnover margin becomes that much more important when you consider that points will be hard to come by.

Of course, this is another category that Texas Tech thrives in. Tosh Lupoi will need to coach up his unit on punching the ball out and keeping their head on a swivel for any interceptable passes. This team does not beat themselves, so the Ducks have to force them to make mistakes

Watch for Jacob Rodriguez

Defensive players typically don’t have much representation in end-of-season awards, so it should be telling that Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriquez finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting. He is a versatile athlete who can be an annoyance rushing the quarterback, but can also cause problems in the run game as a downhill tackler.

The Ducks need to make sure they put together their best protection plan of the year to keep Rodriguez away from Dante Moore. Then in the passing game, Moore should be extremely cautious throwing over the middle of the field because the star linebacker has four interceptions this season. It’s going to be hard to keep Rodriguez completely silent, but Oregon cannot let him leave his fingerprints on the entire game.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon’s 3 keys to victory against Texas Tech football in CFP