ESPN highlights how Oregon Ducks can impress College Football Playoff committee in 2025

USA Today

3 days ago

A year ago, the Oregon Ducks compiled one of the best regular seasons in program history, going 13-0 with a win in the Big Ten Championship to earn the No. 1 seed in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. Now, a year later, with a new-look roster, they're working to return to the same level of success and, as Dan Lanning has said, "double down" on what they were able to accomplish last year.
It's not going to be an easy task, seeing as Oregon returns just one starter on the offensive side of the ball, and three on defense. While a lot of the players from last year's conference title-winning team departed for the NFL, there is an influx of young and talented players ready to take over in Eugene.
So what can they do to impress the College Football Playoff committee this year and return to the postseason tournament? ESPN laid out the specifics earlier this week.
According to ESPN, the Ducks have a 57.5% chance to make it to the CFP, with the easiest route being a defense of their Big Ten title. However, if they are unable to win the conference for a second-straight season, a path remains. That path relies on "style points."
"If Oregon doesn't win the Big Ten, it might be tough to earn a bye if the Ducks don't have enough wins against top 25 opponents -- unless they look like a dominant one- or two-loss team," ESPN's Heather Denich writes. "It depends on what happens elsewhere. Last year, both Oregon and Penn State finished in the selection committee's top four. This year, PSU has a chance to beat Ohio State during the regular season, and Oregon does not. Instead, the Ducks will have to assert themselves against the likes of Indiana and Iowa."
In essence, the Ducks have fewer high-profile regular-season games than they did a year ago, so they will need to dominate in the lower-profile games during the year. If they happen to lose any of those games against teams like Iowa, Washington, Indiana, or USC, it's fair to think that the committee would ding their resume.
"It's not that they can't be overcome, but there's not a lot of wiggle room in a schedule that might include only one or two CFP top 25 teams on Selection Day (Penn State, Indiana?)," Denich continues. "And this schedule has trap games all over it, including trips to Iowa and Washington."
Ultimately, there is a lot of confidence that the Ducks can return to the playoff this year and get into contention for another national championship. Even with potential losses against Penn State and one other team on the schedule, a 10-2 record in the Big Ten would still likely be good enough to get into the mix.
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