The Oregon Ducks are coming off a highly successful season that saw them make the College Football Playoffs for the first time in a decade. Transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel conquered the difficult task of replacing Bo Nix, who set a program record for passing yards and touchdowns in the 2023 season.
Now that Gabriel and nine other players from that squad were drafted and 14 others have entered the transfer portal, the Ducks are trying to pave a way forward. Normally when a team has this much roster turnover, they take a step back from the previous years.
Oregon is not expected to have quite as dominant of a season as last year, but they are projected to be good enough to secure their second consecutive College Football Playoff berth. Brad Crawford of CBS Sports made his predictions for how the playoff bracket will shake out in 2026, and it is an interesting draw for the Ducks, one that would feature a Rose Bowl rematch against the Ohio State Buckeyes, should they get past the first round against the LSU Tigers.
Crawford has them taking down a tough Tigers team in round one, who are led by a potential top-five pick in quarterback Gavin Nussmeier. Fortunately, LSU has a shaky defense at best which should help give Oregon the edge in the matchup.
In this projection, the Ducks fall to Ohio State in the second round. The Buckeyes earned the No. 1 seed in this model, so there would be no shame in a loss. Although it would be another frustrating finish after how last year ended, consecutive College Football Playoff appearances after a decade of dormancy would be a welcome sight.
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