Oregon Ducks' Surprising Spot In Latest Preseason Rankings

With the college football season approaching quickly, the Oregon Ducks have a rather surprising position in the latest preseason rankings along with the Alabama Crimson Tide, Clemson Tigers, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Penn State Nittany Lions, Ohio State Buckeyes, and Texas Longhorns.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning speaks during Oregon football’s Media Day on July 28, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oregon Duck football fans may have to wait a little longer to cheer on the Ducks during their home opener at Autzen Stadium on Aug. 30 against Montana State, but there's plenty of preseason polls to muddle over in the meantime.

Heavily ranked as the No. 1 team before entering the 2024 season, the Ducks are hoping to have similar success with expected starting quarterback Dante Moore, an unproven but heavily hyped commodity.

Returning Ducks like linebacker Bryce Boettcher and tight end Kenyon Sadiq mixed with fresh faces like wide receiver Dakorien Moore and an almost entirely new transfer-portal-based offensive line brings excitement but also a bit of mystery that's resulted in the Ducks seeing the tail end of many analysts top-10 preseason lists.

Combat Duck Dante Moore, left, drops back to pass behind a block by Jay Harris against Fighting Duck Brandon Finny during the fourth quarter of the Oregon Spring Game. | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In the latest preseason ranking from James Parks of Sports Illustrated's College Football HQ, the Ducks find themselves in the top ten, but less near the top than many Duck fans would like.

Sports Illustrated's College Football HQ Preseason Rankings:

1. Texas
2. Ohio State
3. Penn State
4. Georgia
5. Notre Dame
6. Clemson
7. Alabama
8. Oregon
9. LSU
10. Miami
11. South Carolina
12. Illinois
13. Arizona State
14. Michigan
15. Florida
16. Kansas State
17. Texas A&M
18. Indiana
19. Ole Miss
20. Tennessee
21. Texas Tech
22. Iowa State
23. SMU
24. Oklahoma
25. Boise State

"The reigning Big Ten champions install new faces at several key positions like quarterback, offensive line, and in the secondary, but the replacements are top-notch, especially on the line, and in ex-Tulane transfer back Makhi Hughes," Parks said in his evaluation of the team.

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Nov 24, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Tulane Green Wave running back Makhi Hughes (21) runs against UTSA Roadrunners running back Kevorian Barnes (4) during the first half at Yulman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Oregon is a team of veterans with experience at other programs.

As far as Parks' rankings go, the biggest factor for placing the Ducks at No. 8 is due to the sheer amount of questions surrounding how the Oregon team will gel with new arrivals. Ducks offensive coordinator Will Stein even dubbed his squad a "weird veteran team" when discussing Oregon's dynamics in March.

"I think it's kind of all the same theme," Stein said in March, "We added guys to our roster that had experiences at other places, but not any experience in this offense or here at Oregon. It's like a weird veteran team because there's not a lot of production, but there are guys who've played a lot of football. It's going to be a challenge to get guys ready to go by September, but I'm looking forward to it. I think we added depth where we needed to."

Shortcuts end up cutting the long road short.

As Fall Camp begins for @OregonFootball, the team is focused on their foundation. #GoDucks

Full Episode: https://t.co/fnUY5fxKDE pic.twitter.com/HyoyiRLVCX

— GoDucks (@GoDucks) August 8, 2025

So when it comes to preseason rankings, don't expect Oregon to be at the top. Like the program's recent documentary series release, this 2025 squad is very much "under construction" and focused on building a strong foundation. The talent is there, but the chemistry is yet to be seen on the field for game time.