The Oregon Ducks are entering year three under coach Dan Lanning with championship-sized hopes and expectations. The 2024 college football season is brimming with change, as Oregon joins the Big Ten conference in the first season of the expanded 12-team format for the College Football Playoff.
Lanning and the Ducks boast an impressive roster of veterans plus the addition of the Big Ten’s best transfer class. Transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel, wide receiver Evan Stewart, cornerback Jabbar Muhammad, defensive lineman Derrick Harmon and defensive lineman Jamaree Caldwell are already making their presence felt in Eugene.
Stewart and returner Tez Johnson lead a wide receiver unit that could be the best in the country. What does Stewart want in 2024?
“That ball, man. I’m trying to get those passes,” Stewart said after practice this spring. “Oregon suited everything that I was looking for. I wanted to bein a great program that had a lot of order and construction. Everything is so much better here, honestly, I’m happy with my decision.”
The Ducks are confident in their abilities to compete against the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and others in the Big Ten. Oregon has the third-best odds to make the College Football Playoff, trailing only Ohio State and Georgia.
Lanning hopes to build on his success during his two seasons as head coach. Lanning’s 22-5 record and two bowl game victories are a product of the old adage, practice makes perfect.
“It’s so competitive (at practice),” Johnson told Oregon Sports Illustrated’s Bri Amaranthus. “You would think we’re out there in a national championship game playing against whoever – we’re so intense at practice.”
Are the Ducks National Championship bound? Oregon reaches the semifinals to face the Ohio State Buckeyes, but loses to fall short of the title game, in a new prediction from CBS Sports below:
FIRST ROUND
No. 12 Liberty at No. 5 Oregon
The prediction here is that Oregon earns the No. 5 seed in their first season in the Big Ten. The Ducks have a rematch in the first round of the College Football Playoff against the Liberty Flames who are projected to finish undefeated again.
No. 4 Kansas State vs. No. 5 Oregon (Fiesta Bowl)
Oregon would face the winner of the Big 12, in this case the Kansas State Wildcats.
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Oregon (Orange Bowl)
If this matchup is to happen, it’d likely be the third time the Ducks face Ryan Day’s Buckeyes: A regular season matchup in Autzen Stadium, a Big Ten Championship showdown and then the Semifinals game. Can you imagine the drama?
From there… the prediction is No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Georgia in the National Championship game.
