The first season under Dan Lanning for the Oregon Ducks was incredibly encouraging but showed that there is still a lot of room to improve going forward. While the Ducks finished with a 10-3 record and a Holiday Bowl win over the North Carolina Tar Heels, there were a couple of major bumps along the way, notably in losses to the Oregon State Beavers and Washington Huskies.
The Ducks rose to as high as No. 6 in the national rankings at one point but were derailed by an injury to QB Bo Nix late in the season. Despite the final outcome of the year, it’s clear that Oregon was incredibly close to competing for a spot in the College Football Playoff at the end of the season.
So, with a majority of their core players returning, and their up-and-coming head coach now having another year under his belt, the Ducks should be able to compete at the same level and potentially vie for a national championship appearance in 2023, right?
If you look at the ESPN Way-Too-Early Top 25, where Oregon ranks No. 9 going into the offseason, or take a peek at the early national championship betting lines, where the Ducks are tied for the 12th-best odds, that would be a fair assumption. However, 247Sports recently listed their 10 teams “with national championship potential” in 2023, and the Ducks were not on the list.
Is it because Oregon is going through a rebuild on the offensive line after losing four starters from the 2022 season? Maybe it’s the fact that offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham left to take the head coaching job at Arizona State, leaving UTSA’s Will Stein to take over and try to prove himself as the next great offensive mind to roll through Eugene. Doubters could also look at Oregon’s defense from 2022 and think that they have little chance of competing in the Pac-12 with the long list of top-tier quarterbacks returning next season.
All of those reasons are valid, and from an outside perspective, it’s somewhat understandable that viewers would need to see the Ducks prove themselves in these areas before believing in their ability to make it to the CFP.
For those who have been watching Lanning’s offseason moves this year, though — via the transfer portal and recruiting cycle — it’s also fair to believe that this could be the year where the Ducks put it together. Should they stay healthy down the stretch, it’s not hard to see them taking that next step, is it?
Many will want to see it before they believe it. Until then, here are the teams that have been dubbed “championship worthy” according to 247Sports: