He expects them to return to playoff form.
David Pollack Names College Football Team That Will Make the Playoff Despite Losing Star QB originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The 2024 college football season was marked by significant changes in the sport, including the expansion of the College Football Playoff and conference realignment, making it a historic year.
One notable team that switched conferences was the Oregon Ducks, who moved from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten. In their first season in the Big Ten, the Ducks made a strong impression by going undefeated and claiming the Big Ten championship, defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions 45-37. Throughout most of the season, Oregon held the No. 1 ranking in the country.
Winning the Big Ten championship earned Oregon the No. 1 seed in the playoff; however, they were defeated 41-21 by the eventual national champions, the Ohio State Buckeyes. David Pollack, on his podcast "See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack," expressed confidence that the Ducks will avoid a down season moving forward.
"Oregon is getting in," Pollack said. "I think Oregon is getting in. They've proven it. They're pretty consistent. We know who they are. We know what they are. The upper echelon of talent is really, really good. I like their lines of scrimmage. They'll be really good. Oregon's going to win a bunch of games, and I think they're going to be in the mix too."
ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) is a measure of team strength designed to be the best predictor of a team's performance for the remainder of the season. The FPI indicates how many points a team is above or below average.
Heading into this season, the FPI is optimistic about the Oregon Ducks, ranking them as the No. 6 team in the country. The index predicts that Oregon will finish the season with a record of 10-2 and estimates a 19.1% chance of the Ducks repeating as Big Ten champions. Additionally, the FPI gives Oregon a 57.5% chance of making the playoffs and a 4.3% chance of winning the national championship.
However, the Ducks will need to replace several key contributors from last year's team, as they rank No. 109 in the country with only 43% of their production returning this season.
One significant loss is quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who had an impressive single season in Eugene, completing 3,857 yards with 30 touchdowns and six interceptions while achieving a completion rate of 72.9%.
Gabriel will be succeeded by former five-star recruit and UCLA Bruin Dante Moore. During his true freshman season, Moore played in nine games for the Bruins, throwing for 1,610 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions, with a completion rate of 53.5%.
The Ducks are set to kick off their season against Montana State on Aug. 30 at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Related: Paul Finebaum Names Five College Football Teams That Can Win the National Championship
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: General Sports
