The 2024-25 college football season ended on Monday night, as the Ohio State Buckeyes beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 34-23, in the National Championship game. Nearly three weeks ago, the Oregon Ducks lost to the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl, ending their undefeated season.
The 2025 season is a long way away, but with Ohio State holding the National Championship Trophy, fall it’s all we as fans can look forward to. Shortly after the end of Monday’s game, ESPN published their “Way-Too-Early Rankings” for the 2025 college football season, ranking the Ducks at No. 6.
Topping the list is Ohio State, who are followed by the Texas Longhorns, the Penn State Nittany Lions, Notre Dame, and the Georgia Bulldogs. Mark Schlabach, the article’s author, cites Oregon’s lack of returning starters as the reason why he doesn’t think the Ducks will be part of college football’s top tier in 2025.
Schlabach isn’t wrong that Oregon is losing a massive chunk of its key contributors. On offense, the Ducks are losing their top QB, RB, WR, TE, and several important O-linemen. On the other side of the ball, only two of Oregon’s 2024 starting front seven will return, and no starters in the secondary will be back.
That level of roster turnover is arduous to overcome, but for a program like Oregon, it may not be as big of an issue as it would be for most teams. Beginning with the quarterback spot, the Ducks are ushering in Dante Moore, one of the most talented quarterbacks in college football (although he isn’t mentioned by Schlabach as one of Oregon’s key returning players).
The same story is true across the depth chart, with talented players ready to replace the Ducks departing seniors.
As I mentioned before, the Penn State Nittany Lions are ranked No. 3 on ESPN’s list, and they are the only team ranked above the Ducks that is on Oregon’s 2025 schedule. Oregon vs. Penn State is set for September 27th in State College, and it will likely be the Ducks’ toughest game of the regular season. The Nittany Lions are bringing back QB Drew Allar, who is sure to be a Heisman candidate next season.
Ohio State earned the top spot on the field in 2024-25, and they’ve earned the right to start the 2025-26 at the top of the sport. But, kings can fall, especially in college football, and although Schlabach ranks five teams ahead of the Ducks, Oregon should be a dangerous team come August.
