During the 2024 college football season, the Oregon Ducks excelled in its first season in the BIG10 Conference. Oregon finished the regular season with a 12-0 record, and they also won the BIG10 Conference Championship Game against the Penn State Nittany Lions.
When the college football playoffs came around, Oregon lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl. The Ducks got a bad draw and they both met earlier in the regular season. In 2025, things could be a lot different for Oregon with quarterback Dillon Gabriel leaving for the NFL. He was a third-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Ducks head coach Dan Lanning may have more work cut out for him in 2025 than originally thought.
Worst Case Scenario For the Oregon Ducks Revealed For the 2025 College Football Season
Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports listed the potential worst-case scenario for the Ducks in 2025. To no surprise, the best-case scenario he had for them was having another 12-0 regular season. However, the worst-case scenario could potentially be harsh for Oregon. Fornelli thinks that there is a world that they will have an 8-4 record in 2025 and miss the college football playoffs entirely.
He said about Lanning’s squad,
“It turns out that an experienced QB is important when competing at the elite level of the sport. Dante Moore shows plenty of flashes, but the consistency isn’t there, and he struggles in games outside Autzen Stadium. Replacing two starting tackles on the offensive line proves difficult, and the loss of Evan Stewart leaves the Ducks without a true vertical threat in the passing game. Defensively, things are mostly fine, but not elite. Nobody bats an eye when the Ducks lose to Penn State, but the loss on the road to Iowa a month later causes alarm. Alarm that only grows louder with losses to USC and Washington to end the season and keep the Ducks out of the playoffs.”
It would be stunning if Oregon lost to teams like Iowa, USC, and Washington. The loss to the Nittany Lions would not be the worst thing for this football program. Another team that the Ducks could lose to on the schedule is the Indiana Hoosiers. Indiana made it to the playoffs during the 2024 college football season from the BIG10 Conference as well.
There are many questions about the Hawkeyes, the Trojans, and the Huskies entering the 2025 college football season. If Oregon does miss the playoffs, there could be some potential questions about the head coach as well from this fanbase. Lanning has done a very good job recruiting for this football program. However, there is a chance that the Ducks could face challenges with a new quarterback under center for the 2025 college football season.
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