$3 million QB leads No. 1 team ranking for next college football season

The 2025 college football season is now in the books. Seven months separate Indiana's national championship victory from the next college football game in 2026.

One common activity at the end of every college football season is the release of way too early projections by media outlets for the next college football season. These can come in the form of top 25 rankings, College Football Playoff brackets, and projections for awards such as the Heisman Trophy.

Stewart Mandel of The Athletic released his way-too-early top 25 rankings for the 2026 college football season on Thursday. The No. 1 team in Mandel's way-too-early rankings was Oregon.

This year’s No. 1 team in college football is projected to be Oregon, which got a huge lift when projected top-five draft pick Dante Moore decided to come back. pic.twitter.com/61JPq6LoQB
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) January 21, 2026

The Ducks received a major boost going into the offseason when 2025 starting quarterback Dante Moore announced his intent to return to college instead of declaring for the 2026 NFL draft. Moore was projected as the No. 2 overall selection to the New York Jets, only behind former Indiana starting quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza.

Defensively, the Ducks are returning three All-Big Ten nominees in A'Mauri Washington, Matayo Uiagalelei and Teitum Tuioti. Oregon stocked up its defensive backfield with the acquisition of safeties Koi Perich (Minnesota) and Carl Williams IV (Baylor) via the NCAA transfer portal.

Oregon has held the No. 1 ranking in college football in the not-so-distant past. The Ducks were the No. 1 overall seed in the 2024 College Football Playoff following their victory over Penn State (45-37) in the Big Ten Championship. They ran into eventual national champion Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, quickly falling into a 34-point hole en route to the loss (41-21).

The Ducks once again finished their football season with 13 wins and a College Football Playoff loss against the eventual national champion.

Oregon won 11 games in the regular season, three of which were against then-ranked opponents in Penn State (No. 3), Iowa (No. 20) and USC (No. 15). The Ducks' only ranked losses were at home against Indiana (30-20) on Oct. 11, 2025 and against Indiana in the Peach Bowl (56-22).

Oregon faces four teams listed in Mandel's way-too-early top 25 projections. The Ducks host Michigan (No. 14) and Washington (No. 19) while traveling to Ohio State (No. 2) and USC (No. 12).

The Big 10 has the second-most teams in Mandel's top 25 projections with seven, a number that also includes Indiana (No. 6) and Iowa (No. 18). The SEC still leads the way with nine of the top 25 teams in the poll, including Georgia (No. 3), Texas (No. 5), Oklahoma (No. 9), Texas A&M (No. 11), Missouri (No. 13), Ole Miss (No. 15), LSU (No. 16), Alabama (No. 20) and Florida (No. 25).

Dan Lanning following the 2025 Orange Bowl. — Oregon quarterback Dante Moore (5), head coach Dan Lanning and defensive back Brandon Finney (4) throw oranges after the 2025 Orange Bowl | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images