PULLMAN, Wash. - Lest we forget, the Oregon Ducks played in the National Championship Game less than two years ago.

The UO team Washington State stomped Saturday night in Martin Stadium might not make the postseason at all.

The final score was 51-33, and only that close because the Cougars came up empty on two trips inside Oregon's 10.

The drop from the pinnacle to the toilet has been precipitous, sudden and unexpected. The Ducks were in the Top 25 in the season's first three Associated Press polls.

They have gone from ranked to rank.

Who knows how bad it will get?

Oregon plays unbeaten Washington next week in Autzen Stadium, and the Huskies have been waiting for this since 2004.

Washington has speed on the flanks, beef in the trenches and one cool, customer of a quarterback.

If you're an Oregon fan, the only option might be to cover your eyes.

It was almost that bad on Saturday night. WSU receivers ran free in Oregon's secondary while Wazzu quarterback Luke Falk calmly waited, and waited, and waited some more in the pocket while perusing his options.

The Cougars, who normally disdain something as pedestrian as a running game, averaged 7.0 yards per carry. They outrushed Oregon.

Oregon's run defense is that soft.

The Ducks made WSU look like a potential Pac-12 champion, but only by comparison. The Cougs dragged a 1-2 record into the game that includes a loss to FCS Eastern Washington.

The question isn't whether this is the worst Oregon since at least 2006. It clearly is.

The question is what that portends, whether this is a one-season aberration or a sign the bottom has dropped out of the program.

"Now we have a major challenge," UO secondary coach John Neal said. "We're one of those teams that has been great for a long time, and now we're not. It's a major challenge."

Because if winning is a habit, so is losing. Oregon's losing streak is at three and counting.

"We talk about it and address it, and show why things happen," UO coach Mark Helfrich said. "We continue to do that in victory or defeat. We talk about why things happen and looking forward, how we can do more of the good stuff and less of the bad stuff."

In fairness, Oregon's offense remains a threat. The running back combination of Royce Freeman, Tony Brooks-James and Kani Benoit is formidable. The receivers have tools. The offensive line is young and potentially good.

In a cameo appearance Saturday after the game was out of reach, Justin Herbert looked like he could be the quarterback of the future.

The defense is a disaster zone, but with a first-year coordinator and a new scheme.

Sometimes you take a step back to take two steps forward.

If that is what is happening here, well, everybody has an occasional down season. There are 85 scholarships. Some players don't develop. Some get hurt. Some give up the sport. There is no waiver wire in college football.

The concern, though, is this season could be a symptom of a deeper problem. That perhaps last year's 9-4 record could lead to 3-9 this year, and that it won't get better in 2017.

That line of thinking leads directly to the conclusion that Helfrich can't get the job done, that a coaching change is necessary, and sooner rather than later.

The quick trigger hasn't been Oregon's M.O., and the Ducks' patience almost always has paid off.

Rich Brooks had successive seasons of 3-8, 6-6 and 5-6 from 1991-93. The "Ditch Rich" talk that surfaced after a slow start in 1994 evaporated as the Ducks made a charge to the Rose Bowl.

Mike Bellotti struggled in 1996 and 1997 before righting the ship to begin the three-season run that culminated with a one-sided victory over Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl and a season-ending No. 2 ranking.

A coaching change in which you blow up the current regime to bring in a new staff from outside almost never is a quick fix.

It's taken Chris Petersen three seasons to retool Washington. Oregon State's Gary Andersen was 2-10 in 2015, his first year in Corvallis. He has yet to beat a Pac-12 opponent. The end of that rebuild is so far over the horizon it can't be seen.

UO athletic director Rob Mullens is in a tricky spot. He looked past Petersen, who has an Oregon history and appeared ready to listen to an overture from Eugene, to promote Helfrich.

Mullens must have seen something in Helfrich that presumably still is there. He should get a chance to dig out of this.

But Helfrich would be wise not to wait too long to get a firm grip on the shovel and go to work.

-- Ken Goe

503-221-8040 | @KenGoe