Where Oregon Ducks Rank Amongst Most Penalized Teams

The No. 2 Oregon Ducks enter the year with the highest preseason AP Poll ranking in the history of the program, making the upcoming performance on the field beginning with a Sep. 5 kick-off against Boise State even more magnified.

Upholding the Ducks' preseason hype is a tall order, and that includes limiting the amount of penalties called on the field. A poll analyzing the past five seasons of penalties per team across the nation shows that the Ducks are smack dab in the middle when it comes to having the flag thrown on them.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning walks the field during the Oregon Ducks annual spring game on April 25, 2026 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Penalty Lineup

A new report from The Action Network ran the numbers of penalty yards per game, penalties per game, penalty first downs per game, and penalties per play for 136 teams from 2020 to 2025 to determine which programs top their "Dirty Score" rankings, indicating teams with the most penalty problems.

According to The Action Network's findings, the Ducks place at No. 65 out of 136 on their Dirtiest Teams In College Football list with a score of 52.94. Oregon is sandwiched between No. 64 Florida and No. 66 Virginia Tech.

The "dirtiest" Big Ten team? That would be the USC Trojans, who landed in the No. 11 spot with a 92.65 score from the outlet. UCLA (No. 13, 91.18 score), Maryland (No. 24, 83.09 score), and Michigan State (No. 26, 81.62 score) all placed higher than the Ducks in terms of teams who play dirtier than the rest.

The cleanest playing team for the Big Ten ended up being Michigan, with a No. 133 ranking based on a score of 2.94.

Jan 9, 2026; Atlanta, GA, USA; Oregon Ducks tight end Jamari Johnson (9) stiff arms Indiana Hoosiers defensive back Jah Jah Boyd (16) during the fourth quarter the 2025 Peach Bowl and semifinal game of the College Football Playoff at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Oregon Ducks' 2025 Penalities

At the end of the 2025 season, finishing with a 56-22 loss to the Indiana Hoosiers in the College Football Playoff 2026 quarterfinal Peach Bowl, Oregon closed out the season with 76 penalties for a total of 746 lost yards, which averages out to 49.733 yards deducted a game due to penalties.

Compare that number to Oregon's opponents in 2025, which totaled out to 85 penalties for 621 lost yards, totaling to 41.400 penalty yards lost a game.

The most penalized player on the Ducks' 2025 squad was starting offensive tackle Alex Harkey, who wracked up eight penalties costing 81 yards total for the season with five of those penalties being for behavioral calls (facemask, unsportsmanlike, personal foul).

Sep 27, 2025; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Oregon Ducks running back Dierre Hill Jr. (23) runs for a gain after breaking a tackle by Penn State Nittany Lions cornerback Zion Tracy (7) during the third quarter at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Oregon Ducks' Discipline

One of the ways the Ducks can try to limit penalties is by being detail-oriented in practice, which is an element coach Dan Lanning honed in on after the Ducks' first fall camp scrimmage on Aug. 15. Lanning admitted that he believed the Ducks' defense has had the best fall camp so far since joining the program in 2022, and that the offense needs to take notice.

However, Lanning also shared his belief for continuing to improve relies on scrutiny no matter how good a certain position group plays.

"As far as the feeling from this scrimmage to other comparison scrimmages, I don't have a widely different feeling from others. You know, I'm always a pessimistic guy whenever it comes to how what the performance looked like because I want us to be the best version of us, and we're not we're not the best version of us yet, but we're making strides," Lanning said.

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