Oregon Ducks Predicted To Face Former Coach In College Football Playoff

The Oregon Ducks have been predicted to make the College Football Playoff for a second consecutive season, and they're projected to play the Arizona State Sun Devils and coach Kenny Dillingham, a former offensive coordinator for Ducks coach Dan Lanning.

Nov 18, 2023; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

With the 2025 college football season rapidly approaching, Oregon Ducks fans will be hoping that the Ducks can once again make an appearance in the College Football Playoff. The 12-team format will once again be used this season but with a few caveats.

The College Football Playoff structure will change this coming season to a straight seeding format, with the top four teams in the final CFP rankings receiving the bye weeks instead of the conference champions.

Sporting News' Bill Bender predicted the field for next season's College Football Playoff field and how the 12-team tournament might play out. The prediction has the 2025 Oregon Ducks missing out on a first-round bye and missing out on a home playoff game in the first round of the CFP.

The newest prediction has Oregon at No. 9 in the final rankings of the CFP, below Big Ten rivals Ohio State and Penn State. As the No. 9 seed, the Ducks are projected to play Arizona State, which would set up a fun matchup between Oregon coach Dan Lanning and former Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator and now Arizona State Sun Devils coach Kenny Dillingham. 

Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham walks the field before playing against Texas in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Jan 1, 2025, in Atlanta, Ga. | Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While the No. 9 ranking for Oregon may be a bit low for some Ducks fans, most fans would agree that Arizona State should absolutely be included in most predictions for the 2025 College Football Playoff.

Dillingham has quickly turned around the Sun Devils, leading ASU to a 7-2 record in Big 12 play last season while winning the Big 12 championship before falling to Texas in the quarterfinals of the CFP at the Peach Bowl in an overtime thriller.

Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham responds to a question during a joint news conference with Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian before facing off in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. | Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The newest predictions suggest that Oregon will lose a minimum of two games next season, as a one-loss Ducks side would most likely finish above No. 9 in the final rankings of the College Football Playoff. 

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The new prediction has just one Big Ten team in the top four sides earning first-round byes, with Ohio State predicted to land at No. 2 in the final CFP rankings. Penn State was predicted to finish ranked fifth, just missing one of the first-round byes given to the top-four teams in the ranking.

The Sporting News prediction has Navy as the lone team from the group of six to make the CFP, with a final breakdown of four SEC teams, one independent team (Notre Dame), two ACC teams, three Big Ten teams, and Arizona State as the lone representative from the Big 12.

Ohio State Buckeye head coach Ryan Day addresses his team after the spring game at Ohio Stadium on April 12, 2025. | Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Going off of Sporting News' prediction for the upcoming CFP, the winner of Oregon and Arizona State would take on No. 1 seed Texas in the following round. Bender doesn't have too many upsets on the projection, predicting that No. 1 seed Texas and No. 2 seed Ohio State will compete for the National Championship.