Ducks Digest

Oregon College Football Playoff Prediction: Ducks Hosting in Eugene?

Oregon football has a high chance of returning to the College Football Playoff, but where they fall in the bracket will depend on how they perform in the Big Ten Conference.

Kaleb Henry

Oregon outside linebacker Teitum Tuioti celebrates a sack as the Oregon Ducks host Colorado in the Pac-12 opener Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore.
Oregon outside linebacker Teitum Tuioti celebrates a sack as the Oregon Ducks host Colorado in the Pac-12 opener Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA
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Oregon football is looking to return to the College Football Playoff (CFP) for the first time since the inaugural edition in 2014.

The Ducks are already one of the early favorites to make the expanded field, either as the champion of their new Big Ten Conference or as a highly seeded at-large. One national writer believes Oregon will make the CFP without a conference title.

Andy Staples predicts the Ducks as the No. 6 seed in the 2024 College Football Playoff. With the top four seeds, and byes, going to the four highest ranked conference champions, this would make them the second-highest seed for non-conference champs. He has Ohio State (1), Georgia (2), Florida State (3), and Kansas State (4) as the four teams teams with byes while Alabama gets the No. 5 seed.

The rest of the predicted field is Texas (7), Michigan (8), Notre Dame (9), Ole Miss (10), Tennessee (11), and Boise State (12). The Broncos would make the field as the highest ranked Group of Five team. The Ducks would host Tennessee in Eugene on either December 20 or 21.

"Tennessee-Oregon would be a juicy, juicy matchup," Jesse Simonton told Staples. "What Dan Lanning's done with that program has been really impressive just from a talent acquisition perspective."

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning greets quarterback Dillon Gabriel during practice.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning greets quarterback Dillon Gabriel during practice with the Oregon Ducks Tuesday, April 2, 2024 in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA

Staples predicted the game being on the Friday but added that the margin for error in hosting is thin.

"This is a case where one win, one loss probably makes a big difference," Staples said. "The difference between Tennessee having to go on the road here and Oregon hosting is probably gonna be one game in the record."

Some projections for the 2024 season have Oregon going undefeated, which would mean a top four seed and a bye in the CFP to the quarterfinals. But should the Ducks be hosting in late December, the historical averages in Eugene are 46 degrees for a high and 34 degrees for a low.

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Kaleb Henry

KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans.He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team.

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