Oregon Fans Won’t Like Who The Ducks Could Face In The Playoff

The No. 8 Oregon Ducks climbed one spot from No. 9 in the second batch of College Football Playoff Rankings, With their being just three games left in the Ducks regular season, here is how their potential matchup would look against Notre Dame.

Nov 8, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning looks on during the first quarter against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The No. 8 Oregon Ducks moved up one spot in the College Football Playoff rankings after narrowly defeating Iowa at Kinnick Stadium 18-16. The Ducks have just three games left in the regular season, and the potential to move up a few spots or down a few spots is still very much in play. Here is how the new projected bracket would look and what it would mean for the Oregon Ducks. 

Oregon Ducks Could Host Notre Dame In First Round Of CFP

Nov 8, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates with running back Aneyas Williams (22) after he scored a touchdown against the Navy Midshipmen during the second half at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

If the season ended after the release of the second college football playoff rankings, the Ducks would currently host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Autzen Stadium. The winner of that matchup would face Ohio State in the quarterfinals.

While some Ducks fans would love a chance for revenge against the Buckeyes for the Rose Bowl loss last year, it’s safe to assume the Ducks' best chance at a national championship is to be on the opposite side of the bracket as Ohio State. 

If the Ducks do in fact win out, it’s very likely they will rise to the No. 7 spot and potentially even the No. 6 spot. Alabama plays host to Georgia this week, and with the Crimson Tide ranked No. 4 and Georgia ranked at No. 5, it's safe to assume whoever loses that game will drop below Oregon, as both Georgia and Alabama already have one loss. Oregon moving up one spot would potentially keep them away from Ohio State until the national championship game if the Buckeyes continue to hold on to their No. 1 ranking. 

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While the Ducks moving up to No. 7 seems likely if the Ducks take care of Business throughout their remaining three games, moving up any more than that could be tough. Oregon would need a Mississippi State win over Ole Miss in the final week of the regular season to move up further to No. 6, and the Ducks would also need the winner of the Georgia-Alabama game to lose another game during the regular season. 

Oregon Ducks May Be Better Off Without Bye

Nov 8, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore (5) runs off the field after the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

While the Ducks will most likely end the season higher than their No. 8 ranking they have after the week two edition of the CFP rankings, Coach Dan Lanning may be perfectly fine with having to play a first-round game. The Ducks had nearly three weeks of time off before they went down to Pasadena last year to play Ohio State in the Rose Bowl game, and the time off for the Ducks could have potentially been a part of the reason they lost. 

The second college football playoff rankings consist of just three Big Ten schools, with Ohio State and Indiana being handed the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds and the byes. The SEC had five teams in the projected bracket, with Notre Dame being the lone independent, Miami representing the ACC, and USF representing the G5 schools.