Early projection has Oregon Ducks falling short in 2025 College Football Playoff run
In Eugene, there is a lot of confidence that Dan Lanning will have this Ducks team up and running after a major offseason roster overhaul, once again competing for a Big Ten Championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff. Meanwhile, there is some skepticism outside of Eugene that a team that lost 10 players to the NFL Draft will be able to reach the same heights again this year.
While the Ducks' roster may feature a lot of unproven talent, expectations for Oregon to remain in the mix are still present. In what has become an annual tradition, college football analyst Brett McMurphy — now with On3 — released his bowl game projections for the upcoming season, slotting all 82 teams in postseason play.
In those projections, McMurphy has the Ducks making the CFP as a No. 9 seed, but losing in the first round to the No. 8 LSU Tigers.
In McMurphy's projections, the seeding is as follows:
The ultimate final four for McMurphy are Notre Dame vs. Ohio State and Penn State vs. Georgia, with the Bulldogs defeating the Buckeyes in the national championship game.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
New layer to Shemar Stewart, Bengals drama possibly emerges
When it comes to the Shemar Stewart contract standoff with the Cincinnati Bengals, there are layers…to say the least. Layers, like the many reported instances of Stewart and his camp being asked by the Bengals to accept being the first to reset their contractual language when it comes to voidance of guarantees. Advertisement As it turns out, there's another layer: The possible reason Stewart didn't sign standard injury waivers like other unsigned draft picks around the league and practice with his team is due to Cincinnati's participation agreement. RELATED: Cincinnati Bengals' 53-man roster projection following 2025 offseason Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk compared the Bengals' contractual language about participation agreements to that of one other team and came away unimpressed: 'In Stewart's case, a participation agreement that would have more clearly promised to give him the financial package he would have gotten without the injury would have gotten him on the field for the offseason program — and it would have deferred the thornier issue of working out final contract language until training camp.' Advertisement Some of the very specific languages comes down to ambiguity and it is an incredibly small sample size. That said, on one hand, it's easy to see why an agent could balk at the language. On the other, it hasn't seemed to be a red flag for other Bengals rookies historically (provided it's not also brand new). Regardless of the reason, Stewart choosing not to participate while attending spring work when many rookies in similar positions did around the league was a risky roll of the dice given the developmental reps needed after entering the NFL perceived as a project. RELATED: Joe Burrow feelings on Trey Hendrickson contract standoff revealed This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: New layer to Shemar Stewart, Bengals drama possibly emerges
USA Today
39 minutes ago
- USA Today
Former NFL TE says Commanders safety is an athletic 'freak'
So you think you could play in the NFL? Former Washington tight end Logan Paulsen and Craig Hoffman engaged in a conversation on their latest edition of the "Take Command" podcast, discussing the athleticism of NFL players. Paulsen mentioned the Commanders' rookie undrafted safety last year, Tyler Owens. "He's a freak, right?" said Paulsen. Logan then told of how, though Owens is a physical specimen, he last year only saw action for the most part on special teams. "He's a special-teams backup because he lacks some of that football intuition right now. Can you learn it? Sure. Can you develop it? For certain. I think that is where the starting players are special." Paulsen broke out and told an old story about how one of his NFL tight end coaches had used a grading system for players for about a decade. The coach graded all but two players as green athletically and had two players whom he graded down athletically as red. The coach was talking with Paulsen one day, conveying to him that in the decade, he had only graded two of his tight ends in the red. Paulsen, curious, asked, only to be surprised to find out he himself was one of the two! When Paulsen was asked one time to join a bunch of athletic guys in a game of flag football. They could not believe all of the plays that Paulsen was making, such as touchdowns and an interception. Afterward, one of the guys told Paulsen that he viewed him as an NFL scrub, and now he marveled because Paulsen had just proven he was much more athletic than all the other guys playing. Do you remember Brian Scalabrine? He was a mere role player, spending 11 NBA seasons on the bench. Those who played basketball in high school might view themselves as athletic. Still, they have no idea of the numerous levels of basketball players who have played in college, some of whom made it to the NBA, some were starters, some were All-Stars, and even fewer were superstars. Scalabrine was criticized by someone who was clueless and had no comprehension of the many levels of athleticism out there, and Scalabrine responded, "I'm way closer to LeBron than you are to me." The same holds true in every sport; the golfers, swimmers, basketball players, football players, and tennis pros you see on television are far better than anyone you have most likely seen in person in your respective sport.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Former NFL Veteran Dead Suddenly At 53
Former NFL Veteran Dead Suddenly At 53 originally appeared on The Spun. The football world lost yet another former defensive lineman in the span of several days. Last week saw the passing of former All-Pro defensive end Gerry Philbin, who died at 83 and enjoyed prolific career as a member of the New York Jets from 1964-1972— and now a more recent D-lineman has also transitioned. Advertisement Over the weekend, ex-Steelers/Bengals DT Oliver Gibson reportedly passed away at the age of 53. Gibson spent nine seasons in the NFL as a former fourth-round pick out of Notre Dame and was one of the more underrated pieces to those menacing "Blitzburgh" defenses of the '90s. The Romeoville, IL native was named USA Today's High School Defensive Player of the Year and a Parade Magazine All-American back in 1989 before parlaying that into a scholarship to South Bend and a near-decade long professional career. After his playing days, Gibson returned to his hometown where he took the head coaching job Romeoville High School starting in 2015. Advertisement Gibson appeared in 133 games with 57 starts across his nine years in the National Football League where he recorded 243 tackles, 17.5 sacks, 37 tackles for loss and batted down 10 passes. The 304-pound defensive tackle was also a part of Pittsburgh's 1995 Super Bowl team as a rookie, an accomplishment he relayed to the youth from his home area when he arrived back at Romeoville. Jan 23, 1996; Tempe, AZ, USA; FILE PHOTO; Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle (98) Oliver Gibson during media day of Super Bowl XXX at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Photo By Imagn Images © Copyright Imagn Images© RVR Photos-Imagn Images 'When I talk to the kids, I tell them that everything that they've been through, I've been through. And everywhere that you want to go from Romeoville, you can do it," Gibson said at the time. May he rest in peace. Advertisement Related: Taylor Fritz's Girlfriend Turning Heads At Wimbledon Monday Former NFL Veteran Dead Suddenly At 53 first appeared on The Spun on Jul 1, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jul 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
