Big Ten Preseason Poll: Oregon Ducks Football Picked Behind Ohio State Buckeyes

Oregon Ducks Football enters the Big Ten Conference as one of the teams to beat, slotting in near the top of a major preseason poll. Picking up several first-place votes, can the Ducks take the league title in Year 1?

Oregon running back CJ Verdell runs past Ohio State safety Bryson Shaw (17) and cornerback Cameron Brown (26) for a 77-yard touchdown on Saturday. Verdell scored two touchdowns. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch via Imagn

You won't find a more Big Ten Conference-centric poll than the one released Monday.

The Big Ten Football Preseason Poll from Cleveland.com has come out annually ahead of Big Ten Media Days. The poll began when the league had 12 teams; the league now features 18 programs.

Oregon received six first-place votes from the 27 voters. That helped the Ducks to a preseason No. 2 ranking. UO has not finished at least tied for second in the league by record since 2018, though those seasons all came in the Pac-12 Conference. Now into the Big Ten, the Ducks are traversing new waters.

Dec 1, 2023; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Oregon Ducks tight end Terrance Ferguson (3) celebrates with team mates after scoring a touchdown against the Washington Huskies during the third quarter at Allegiant Stadium. / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Ohio State was the runaway favorite with 21 votes to win the league. This is in the ninth time the Buckeyes have been picked as the preseason favorites. In only three of the previous years has Ohio State then gone on to win the title, though the Buckeyes did add conference championships in two seasons where they were not the favorites.

Michigan, the three-time defending league champ is picked to finish fourth. That would feel like a massive step back for the defending national champions, even with the loss of players and coach Jim Harbaugh to the NFL. Still, finishing top-four in the Big Ten could still lead to a College Football Playoff berth as the postseason has been expanded to include 12 teams.

As for the other newcomers with Oregon, USC is picked sixth, Washington 10th, and UCLA 15th.

The full preseason ranking are below.

1. Ohio State
2. Oregon
3. Penn State
4. Michigan
5. Iowa
6. USC
7. Wisconsin
8. Nebraska
9. Rutgers
10. Washington
11. Maryland
12. Minnesota
13. Illinois
14. Northwestern
15. UCLA
16. Michigan State
17. Indiana
18. Purdue