EUGENE — Noah Whittington burst through the line of scrimmage, dragged and then discarded seven defenders, high-stepped toward the end zone and, as he prepared to start his celebration, watched the ball slip from his hands.

He lost it at the 1-yard line.

Bobbled it as he crossed into the end zone.

Then Whittington secured the ball just long enough to avoid total disaster.

That second-quarter touchdown in Friday’s 42-13 blowout over Minnesota feels like a fitting representation of the Ducks lately, doesn’t it?

A week after Oregon came back under spitting Iowa skies to keep its College Football Playoff hopes intact, the Ducks delivered a complete, wire-to-wire victory behind a historic passing performance from Dante Moore.

And I have no idea how to put it in the context of this season.

That is a quandary created by the fact that this is a season sorely missing critical context.

How good are the Ducks? What does it all mean?

Ten weeks into to the season, it’s still impossible to know. We really don’t know what we are looking at with this team.

And, in many ways, that’s the beauty of sports.

But the Ducks are a team without a signature win.

As thrilling as the victory in State College earlier this season was, the rest of the Big Ten has taken turns beating up Penn State since that September evening. And as impressive as Moore was on the final drive to beat the Hawkeyes in Iowa City, the fact remains that it was an ugly game where the banged-up Ducks were far from their best and were very nearly beaten.

Of their eight wins over FBS opponents, only three — at No. 21 Iowa (6-3), at Northwestern (5-4) and on Friday against the Golden Gophers (6-4) — have come against teams that currently have winning records. It’s reflective of just how much the Big Ten has struggled outside of its top three teams.

Indiana is the only likely CFP team the Ducks have played and the Hoosiers pushed them around for much of the day on Oct. 11 at Autzen Stadium.

A year ago, the Ducks were ranked No. 1, undefeated with a win over Ohio State and widely considered the favorite to win a national championship. They still went splat in the Rose Bowl in the rematch against the Buckeyes.

So I know better than to draw too many conclusions based on the body of work through the middle of November.

Shoot, Ohio State won the national title after losing to Michigan last year. Get to the playoff and see what happens.

If the Ducks win the next two weeks against USC (currently ranked No. 17 in the CFP rankings) and at Washington, they will coast into the playoff, and that is worth celebrating. They even still have a backdoor path back to the Big Ten championship game.

But their schedule has not helped their postseason credentials. By winning out they would likely secure a top-eight seed and a home playoff game and have the momentum of two very solid wins.

But have the Ducks shown you anything that would make you believe they can beat a team like Ohio State, Texas A&M or, ahem, the Hoosiers?

No.

Does the absence of that kind of performance necessarily mean that they can’t or won’t?

Also no.

Friday night was a gorgeous night for football. After playing in the rain the last two weeks, the skies cleared in Eugene and you should be able to simply appreciate the show the Ducks put on. Moore, who had not thrown a touchdown pass since Oct. 18, was absolutely dazzling, completing 27 of his 30 passes for a school record 90% completion rate.

He was helped out by some spectacular catches from receivers, including Malik Benson, Jeremiah McClellan and star tight end Kenyon Sadiq.

But all of that also came against a Minnesota defense that gave up 467 yards two weeks ago against Michigan State. The Gophers allow more than 378 yards per game.

None of that is the Ducks’ fault. They can only play the teams on their schedule.

But this is the zero-sum standard Oregon has created through its own success and its incredible investment in football.

It makes it hard to sit back and just enjoy a game for what it is without contemplating the greater context within the school’s ongoing push to finally win a national title.

The Ducks are still so young at many key positions. They are gaining experience as they go that will shape their national profile in years to come. They might even be laying the groundwork for a thrilling January.

But nothing the Oregon has done, or had the opportunity to do, has made that seem like the likely outcome.

The Ducks nearly bobbled away their postseason ambitions a week ago in Iowa. Today, they are still holding firmly to them.

But as far as getting real answers about this team’s potential?

Those may not come until the Ducks actually reach the playoff.

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