Oregon Ducks Listed as 2024 National Champion in Second NCAA-Related Poll: Internet Reacts

With one of the NCAA National Championship determiner studies, the Wolfe Rating, placed the Oregon Ducks at the No. 1 spot in the nation, another ranking system with ties to the NCAA Championship is also declaring that the Ducks as national champions.

Dec 7, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; The Oregon Ducks celebrate defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions to win the Big Ten Championship in the 2024 Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images / Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Many fans of the Oregon Ducks may remember the day that the Wolfe Rating System, one of six selectors for the NCAA National Champion Major Selections, named Oregon as the No. 1 team in the nation near the end of January. With a final number of 9.598, Duck fans took to social media to proclaim their statistic-based victory.

Recently, a second ranking site with connections to the NCAA has declared the Ducks as the No. 1 team in the nation. Another selector for the NCAA National Champion Major Selections, the Jeff Anderson & Chris Hester College Football Computer Rankings, placed Oregon atop both the Ohio State University and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as the best in college football.

So, how did the Ducks receive the distinction of the best football program in the nation for the first time in program history when the Ducks did not win the College Football Playoff?

2nd NCAA selector poll has claimed Oregon as #1

Anderson & Hester ratings put Oregon as the 2024-25 national champions.https://t.co/6NZpBixAZU pic.twitter.com/XXj5NhR9xb

— CFB Home (@CFBHome) January 25, 2025

Oregon ended up with a .823 final rating from the Anderson & Hester Rankings, with Ohio State coming up second with a .816 rating, and Notre Dame in third with a .787 evaluation. Looking at the top-10 list, five Big Ten Conference teams made the cut for the 2024 seasons' best (Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State, Indiana, and Illinois).

"While national champion (14-2) Ohio State had a much stronger finish, Big Ten champion (13-1) Oregon had the better overall, season-long results," the website for the Anderson & Hester Rankings posted with their results.

The system also argued that Oregon's Oct. 12 win over the Buckeyes at Autzen Stadium, and the Ducks' win over the Michigan Wolverines on Nov. 2 in the "Big House" compared to Ohio State's 10-13 loss to the Wolverines at "The Horseshoe," placed the Ducks above the Buckeyes for their final calculations.

The Oregon Ducks surfs the crowd after the football team defeated Ohio State at Autzen Stadium Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. / Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"The Ducks and Buckeyes each played the other twice and #12 Michigan once, with 1 of those games at home, 1 on the road, and 1 at a neutral site—and the Ducks went 2-1 in those games while the Buckeyes went 1-2 (with neither team losing otherwise)," the website wrote. "Versus the season-ending top-12, Oregon went 5-1 and Ohio State 5-2 (with neither team losing to a team ranked outside the top-12)."

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The Anderson & Hester Rankings determined this list without a pre-season poll, beginning their ranks by week ten of the regular season. This list was built by ranking the teams based on beating quality opponents, not running up scores, as well as factoring in their strength of schedule and conference, and the win-loss record of non-conference games.

Ohio State Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) eyes a pass to the endzone in front of Oregon Ducks linebacker Bryce Boettcher (28) during the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. Ohio State won 41-21. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Of course, this second No. 1 ranking for the Ducks made fans from across the college football world sound off with opinions. Duck fans (mostly ironically) claimed victory while many others questioned the use of such polls now that the College Football Playoffs have transitioned to a 12-team format.

Never thought I’d see a shared title in todays format

— BongoBlue2 (@Blue2Bongo) January 25, 2025

https://t.co/bHVAfkCIYy pic.twitter.com/70MMZlKomB

— H𝐎mer (@OregonHomer) January 26, 2025

Oregon can thank the Huskies for another unclaimed national title as Anderson & Hester was created at the University of Washington. https://t.co/DpcO6IrfrX

— Eric Hovland (@EricJHovland) January 26, 2025

The only other time Anderson/Hester has broken with consensus on the National Champion is 2008. Utah beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to finish as the only undefeated team, Florida won the BCS Championship.

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) January 25, 2025

With a second source directly tied to helping determine the NCAA National Champion conceding to Oregon at No. 1, Ducks fans can hold these two polls as a sign of great seasons to come, as well as a strengthening of the Ducks' rivalry with the Buckeyes.

Though Ohio State is the only team in the nation to boast they conquered the 12-team playoff bracket in it's first year and hold the National Championship trophy for 2024 after beating Notre Dame 34-23, the Ducks have plenty to be proud of. With a Big Ten Conference Championship under their belt for their first year in their new league as well as a historic 13-0 season, these post-season rankings are just icing on the cake.

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