Eric Evans Photography – Former Eureka standout Jake Hanson in action for the Oregon Ducks.

By Ray Hamill — Local football fans may have added reason to pay attention to this year’s college football playoffs.

Former Eureka standout Jake Hanson and the Oregon Ducks are ranked No. 6 in the second College Football Playoff Rankings released on Tuesday, up one spot from a week ago.

The Ducks are 8-1 and have won eight straight games since an opening weekend defeat to Auburn, with Hanson playing a big part in that success.

The four-year starter at Oregon, who is expected to be drafted in the mid rounds next April, has started all but one game this fall, missing out on the Stanford matchup due to injury.

And the Ducks would appear to have a pretty good shot at making the four-team playoffs, which would be a very good way for Hanson to close out his college career.

The Ducks’ final three regular season games all are against opponents they will be heavily favored to beat, which would set up a conference championship showdown against probably Utah or USC, where a win would give the Ducks a legitimate shot at making the coveted playoff field, depending on how certain other teams do between now and then.

For what it’s worth, ESPN has Oregon ranked fifth in their power rankings, giving the Ducks a 32 percent chance of making the final four.

The latest College Football Playoff Rankings has LSU at No. 1, followed in turn by Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia and Alabama, although with three SEC Teams currently ranked above the Ducks, whichever of them loses their conference championship game will most likely drop out of contention.

Hanson (6-foot-5, 295 pounds) and the Ducks will host Arizona on Saturday.

Hanson graduated Eureka in 2015.

Spalding enjoying big season

Another former H-DNL standout, McKinleyville’s Kyle Spalding, is also enjoying a big season in the college ranks.

Spalding, a 2016 Panthers graduate, has started all nine games this fall for the San Diego State Aztecs, who are 7-2 and in contention for the Mountain West Conference.

Spalding and the Aztecs lead the West Division with three games remaining, including a pivotal game at Hawaii in two weeks.

Spalding, a 6-6, 300-pound junior, was recruited as a tight end but switched to the offensive line as a sophomore and made his first-ever start at left tackle this season.