Tag: oregon ducks

Oregon makes the field in ESPN’s first Bracketology report of the season

See where the Oregon Ducks land in ESPN’s first Bracketology report of the 2024 college basketball season.

The Oregon Ducks men’s basketball program is off to a hot start this season with a 4-0 record in November. Many national college basketball pundits were skeptical about a Ducks’ team without N’Faly Dante and Jermaine Couisnard, but through four games, Oregon looks like a quality team with March Madness potential.

Throughout the season, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi releases his “Bracketology” report, which details his current predictions for the field of 68 in the upcoming NCAA tournament. And although the Ducks were left out of the preseason AP Poll, Lunardi has them in the round of 64 in his first Bracketology report of the season.

In the initial report, Oregon is predicted to play in the West region as a nine-seed. The Ducks’ eight-seed counterpart is the Texas Longhorns who are 3-1 to start the season. The one-seed at the top of the region is Oregon’s Pacific Northwest neighbor: Gonzaga.

Oregon’s 4-0 record is impressive, but they have yet to match up with any quality teams this year, and they almost lost to Portland. The Ducks have plenty of potential to see their predicted seed (and real seed) go up before March, but the Ducks have their toughest games ahead of them.

Oregon’s not-so-distant future begins with a Thursday game in Corvallis against Oregon State. Next week, the Ducks are headed to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival before kicking off conference play in December.

 

Ducks of a Feather to release Nike Dunk Low Triple Black Luxe “What the Duck Alternate”

Division Street’s Ducks of a Feather is teaming up with GOAT once again to release a limited edition “What the Duck Alternate” Nike Dunk.

Ducks of a Feather has done it once again, partnering with GOAT to release a limited edition Nike shoe that will be available for players and fans in the near future.

On Wednesday morning, Ducks of a Feather announced that they partnered with GOAT on a limited edition Nike Dunk Low Triple Black Luxe “What the Duck Alternate” which will be available on the GOAT app for $325 per pair.

The release is scheduled for November 28.

While the “What the Duck” Nike Dunk Lows offered a nod to the past decade-plus of Oregon uniforms that took the college football world by storm, these “What the Duck Alternate” Dunks will pay homage to the man largely responsible for turning Oregon into what it has become — Uncle Phil Knight.

The all-black design gives a nod to the Nike co-founder’s distinct all-black wardrobe and features luxe materials such as high-quality leather, suede, and hints of reflective on textured fabrics.

What The Duck Alternate Triple Black Luxe

As always with Division Street’s Ducks of a Feather brand, proceeds generated from the Nike Dunk Low Triple Black Luxe “What the Duck Alternate” will benefit participating University of Oregon student-athletes.

Division Street Inc. is a sports venture company founded by several University of Oregon alumni and donors that develops creative and effective marketing programs to maximize revenue opportunities for University of Oregon student-athletes. Division Street’s Ducks of a Feather is a brand featuring original apparel and footwear collaborations that are promoted by and provide revenue opportunities for University of Oregon student-athletes.

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Dan Lanning weaponized the Jump Around dance to lead Oregon to beat Wisconsin

Oregon was prepared to hear Jump Around and it REALLY paid off.

Oregon football head coach Dan Lanning has continued to embarrass his opponents this season, now adding Wisconsin as a new target.

During the latest episode of “Ducks vs Them” released on Tuesday, fans got an inside look at how Lanning was able to rally Oregon during a comeback road victory against the Badgers on Saturday.

One of the main strategies was to use the song “Jump Around” as a primary motivator. Camp Randall Stadium, where Wisconsin plays home football games, has that song play between the third and fourth quarter like how the Ducks have “Shout” at Autzen Stadium in Eugene.

Lanning spoke to his players and said that “everybody know what time it is” when that “Jump Around” song comes on.

The video then took fans behind-the-scenes to practice on Monday, when Lanning walked into a team meeting blasting “Jump Around” by House of Pain.

Relating it back to Pavlov’s dog, while showing videos of Wisconsin fans dancing to the song, he said when when Wisconsin plays this song, it is meant to evoke a response from the opposing players. Lanning agreed, but he wanted to control what message it sent.

“In this game and throughout this week, you are going to hear this song. It’s going to release dopamine in your mind. It’s going to tell you that you’re hungry to go win. Whenever we hear this, I want our temperature to change. I want the temperature in the room to change. When we hear it at practice, it’s about to get serious. When that song comes on at practice, I want you to reset your mind for what you’re about to do.”

Fans then saw Oregon players dancing to “Jump Around” during practices before the game.

The coach wanted his players to “enjoy the moment” when it shows up and to “take advantage” of it. The video then cuts to the Ducks enjoying themselves on the field when “Jump Around” actually plays between the third and fourth quarter.

Not only did the players dance but The Duck mascot also jumped around on a pogo stick.

Oregon then went for it on fourth down as Dillon Gabriel competed a very difficult pass to tight end Terrance Ferguson.

The fourth quarter belonged to the Ducks, who looked like the far better team following this sudden tonal change. Oregon eventually secured a pick to win the game with a much-needed interception by Matayo Uiagalelei.

Back in the locker room, Lanning chose to “crank that song” and play “Jump Around” to celebrate the win.

During postgame press conferences, several from the Ducks (including Lanning) explained their reasoning for the “Jump Around” celebration.

This was incredibly clever maneuvering from Lanning, who has shown boldness and creativity during Oregon’s first season in a new conference.

Oregon remains undefeated with one game left in the regular season and has earned a berth in the Big Ten Football Championship Game before the next College Football Playoff.

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College Football Playoff bracket outlook for Oregon football: Where the Ducks fit

Oregon landed 1st in the latest College Football Rankings. Here’s a playoff picture for the Ducks.

The Oregon Ducks did what they needed to do this past week to beat the Wisconsin Badgers on the road and keep their undefeated record intact. It wasn’t pretty, with a 16-13 final, but it was sufficient enough to keep the Ducks on top of the college football world in terms of rankings, as one of only three remaining undefeated teams. Now, Oregon can head into their much-needed bye week and try to get healthy.

Across the nation, we saw some intriguing results, with the undefeated BYU Cougars suffering an upset, while the Georgia Bulldogs beat the Tennessee Volunteers and got themselves back into the playoff picture.

With the chaos around the league, let’s take a look at who fell out of the playoff rankings, and who moved up after Week 11.

College Football Playoff bracket: Who’s in, who’s out

The loss suffered by BYU last week will be interesting, as the fallout is important. The Committee dropped them to No. 14 in the rankings because of the loss, while they moved the Bulldogs up to No. 10 in the rankings after a win over Tennessee. This is all important to see now while we still have a couple of weeks before the final rankings are released.

Latest CFP rankings

  1. Oregon Ducks
  2. Ohio State Buckeyes
  3. Texas Longhorns
  4. Penn State Nittany Lions
  5. Indiana Hoosiers
  6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
  7. Alabama Crimson Tide
  8. Miami Hurricanes
  9. Ole Miss Rebels
  10. Georgia Bulldogs
  11. Tennessee Volunteers
  12. Boise State Broncos
  13. SMU Mustangs
  14. BYU Cougars
  15. Texas A&M Aggies
  16. Colorado Buffaloes
  17. Clemson Tigers
  18. South Carolina Gamecocks
  19. Army Knights
  20. Tulane Green Wave
  21. Arizona State Sun Devils
  22. Iowa State Cyclones
  23. Missouri Tigers
  24. UNLV Rebels
  25. Illinois Fighting Illini

Oregon’s projected CFP opponent

With the No. 1 seed, Oregon would be in line for a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. After that, they would play the winner of either No. 6 Notre Dame or No. 7 Alabama.

How many teams in College Football Playoff 2024?

For the first time, there will be 12 teams participating in the College Football Playoffs. There are five automatic bids for each of the Power Four conference champions and one to the highest-ranked Group of Five champion. The remaining seven slots are given to the seven at-large teams.

When next College Football Playoff rankings come out

  • Tuesday, Nov. 19: 7 p.m. ET
  • Tuesday, Nov. 26: 8 p.m. ET
  • Tuesday, Dec. 3: 7 p.m. ET
  • Sunday, Dec. 8: Noon ET

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Oregon Ducks receiver Tez Johnson announces return on social media

Oregon Ducks wide receiver Tez Johnson announced on his Instagram story that he would be returning from his injury during Oregon’s bye week.

The Oregon Ducks have been without one of their best players in wide receiver Tez Johnson since early November due to injury, but the star pass-catcher took to social media on Tuesday morning to apparently announce his return.

“He’sssssssssss!! Backkkkkkkkkkkk!!” Johnson wrote over a picture on his Instagram story. 

Johnson has not played since November 2 during the game vs. the Michigan Wolverines at The Big House in Ann Arbor. On the second play of the game, he went down after catching a pass and landed hard on his right shoulder, causing him to miss the rest of the game while sporting a sling.

There was speculation that it was either a collarbone or shoulder injury, with early fears being that it could cause him to miss the remainder of the season. However, head coach Dan Lanning informed the media that Johnson was expected to return at some point.

Ducks Wire initially reported that Johnson was expected back by the Conference Championship Game in early December at the earliest. However, the message from Johnson comes during Oregon’s bye week, which means he may be able to get back on the field as early as Week 14 against the Washington Huskies. 

That would be a massive development for the Ducks, who have looked a touch off on offense without No. 15 on the field.

We will talk to Lanning on Wednesday during his only media availability of the bye week, so we will find out more details then.

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Where can I watch the CFP rankings for Oregon football?

2024’s first CFP rankings will offer an early look at the playoff bracket for Oregon football. Here’s how to watch.

The Oregon Ducks survived one of their biggest scares of the season over the weekend, getting out of Madison with a 16-13 win over the Wisconsin Badgers. It was a win that lacked any style points, but at this point in the season, all that’s needed is a win to keep the College Football Playoff hopes alive.

On Sunday morning, Oregon kept its No. 1 ranking in both the US LBM Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25, but the ranking that really matters comes out on Tuesday night with the third iteration of the College Football Playoff rankings.

Will the Ducks stay at No. 1, and more importantly, how will teams below them jockey for positions as we enter into the final two weeks of the regular season? Here’s how to tune in to find out.

How to watch College Football Playoff rankings show

TV Channel: ESPN

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch CFP rankings reveal live on Fubo (free trial)” link=”https://www.fubo.tv/welcome/leagues/191261?irad=399332&irmp=1205322&subId1=SMG&subId2=NCAAF&subId3=2024″]

College Football Playoff rankings release date:

Date: Tuesday, November 19

What time is CFP rankings release?

Start Time: 4:00 p.m. PT

Oregon football CFP rankings projection

After another winning week, there’s no reason to believe that Oregon will move out of the No. 1 spot, even though it was a 16-13 win over an unranked Wisconsin. What will be the most interesting thing to see is how far Georgia moves up in the rankings after a win over Tennessee, and how far the Volunteers fall. The result of that could very well determine how many SEC teams get into the playoff.

How many teams in College Football Playoff 2024?

For the first time, there will be 12 teams participating in the College Football Playoffs. There are five automatic bids for each of the Power Four conference champions and one to the highest-ranked Group of Five champion. The remaining seven slots are given to the seven at-large teams.

How does the College Football Playoff format work?

The top four seeds will be on a bye as the CFP kicks off. The next four highest-seeded teams will host on-campus playoff games as follows:

  • No. 5 vs No. 12, winner will play No. 4
  • No. 6 vs No. 11, winner will play No. 3
  • No. 7 vs No. 10, winner will play No. 2
  • No. 8 vs No. 9, winner will play No. 1

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Multiple predictions drop for Oregon Ducks to land No. 1 TE in 2026 class

The Oregon Ducks are now the heavy favorites to land 5-star tight end Kendre Harrison after a pair of predictions fell on Monday night.

Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks are working to put the finishing touches on the 2025 recruiting class before the early signing period gets underway in less than a month, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make waves in the 2026 class as well.

The Ducks already have the No. 1 class in the 2026 cycle, headlined by players like Tradarian Ball, Jonas Williams, and Kodi Greene, but on Monday afternoon, they picked up a pair of predictions to land one of the best overall players in the nation.

According to On3’s Steve Wiltfong and 247Sports’ Tom Loy, the Ducks are now favored to land 5-star tight end Kendre Harrison, the No. 9 player in the nation, and No. 1 tight end in 2026.

Harrison is a massive prospect, standing at 6-foot-7, 243 pounds. He was in Eugene earlier this year for the Saturday Night Live camp in August and left as one of the standout players to take the field at Autzen Stadium.

Harrison announced on Monday that he would be making his commitment official on November 30 of this year, which led to both Wiltfong and Loy making their predictions.

We will have to wait a couple of weeks before finding out if Oregon can add this incredibly gifted pass-catcher to the class of 2026, but early signs are positive, for sure.

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Where No. 1 Oregon Ducks’ championship odds stand after Week 12 win vs. Wisconsin

The Oregon Ducks odds to win the national championship went down after their close victory over Wisconsin in Week 12.

The Oregon Ducks didn’t earn any style points on Saturday night with their 16-13 win over the Wisconsin Badgers, but they didn’t need them to keep the national championship dreams alive in Eugene.

While there were a lot of things to improve upon in Week 12, Oregon now heads into a much-needed bye week with a chance to get healthy and prepare for the finals stretch run of the season, where a trip to the Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff are well within reach.

With just two weeks left in the regular season, the race for a playoff spot is heating up, with potential championship contenders trying to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. The Ducks are certainly among those championship contenders, standing as one of only three teams with an undefeated record in the Power 4.

With that path ahead, how do their national championship odds weigh out? Let’s take a look at the latest numbers, according to BetMGM.

[gambcom-standard rankid=“4141” ]

Here’s a look at the full odds:

The odds will undoubtedly shift again over the coming weeks as we get ready for some big-time conference games.

If the Ducks can continue to take care of business in games where they’re favored, though, then Oregon should stay near the top of the odds board entering December.

[gambcom-standard rankid=“6305″]

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Oregon Ducks lead nation in College Football Playoff probability, per ESPN FPI

A look at the Oregon Ducks’ remaining win probability in every game of the 2024 season, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index.

There are just two weeks between us and the end of the regular season in the college football world, and while Conference Championship games in Week 15 will decide what seeds teams get in the first expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, we will get a good sense of who should be playing in the postseason before then. For instance, the Oregon Ducks not only virtually clinched a spot in the Big Ten title game with their 16-13 win over the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday night, but they also all but guaranteed a trip to the CFP as well, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index. Going into Week 13 — a much-needed bye for the Ducks — Oregon has the best odds in the nation to make it to the playoffs, with a 99.6% chance, per the FPI. The next closest team is Indiana at 96.6%, followed by Ohio State at 94.6%. Oregon Ducks — 99.6% Indiana Hoosiers — 96.6% Ohio State Buckeyes — 94.6% Texas Longhorns — 93.7% Georgia Bulldogs — 92.0% For those unfamiliar with ESPN’s FPI, it is an index that “relies on past performance on offense and defense, returning and transfer production and past recruiting data for players on the roster to form a rating.” In essence, it’s ESPN’s way of declaring the top teams in the nation, looking at their roster, their schedule, their percentage to win each game, and where that ultimately lands them after the season comes to an end. In short, it looks at Oregon’s 2024 schedule and predicts what percentage the Ducks have to win each game, and make it into the postseason and beyond. Throughout the year, the numbers change based on past performance, injuries, and other variables. Let’s take a look at what the numbers say following Week 12:

Oregon vs. Washington Huskies — Week 14

Oregon Percent Chance to Win, per FPI: 88.1% Previous FPI Win %: 89.3%

Oregon Ducks Overall Season Outlook

Percent Chance to Win Out: 33.8% Previous Odds: 26.8% Percent Chance to Win Conference: 38.0% (Ohio State Conference Title Odds: 46.2%) Previous Odds: 37.8% Percent Chance to Make College Football Playoff: 99.6% Previous Odds: 95.3% Percent Chance to Make National Championship: 19.2% Previous Odds: 19.3% Percent Chance to Win National Championship: 7.3% Previous Odds: 7.8% [lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Can Penn State still play in the Big Ten championship game?

Penn State’s path to a Big Ten championship is still there, but the Nittany Lions will need some help.

With two weeks remaining in the regular season, there is still a chance Penn State can play for the Big Ten championship. But in addition to taking care of its remaining schedule, Penn State will need some help from around the conference in order to book a trip to Indianapolis to play for the first Big Ten championship in the 18-team era of the conference.

At 6-1 in Big Tne play, Penn State sits in fourth place in the Big Ten standings following the result of Week 12. Oregon essentially clinched its spot in the Big Ten championship game with a defensive victory at Wisconsin on Saturday night. There is a bizarre tiebreaker that could bite Oregon in the end, but that is considered highly unlikely at this stage. That leaves one spot up for grabs between three teams, including Penn State.

And there will be some clarity to the Big Ten championship game situation in Week 13 when the two other teams competing for a spot in Indy, Ohio State and Indiana, square off in the game of the week. Indiana is undefeated this season and Ohio State has just one loss (to Oregon). Indiana owns a one-game lead on Penn State in the standings and Ohio State holds the edge over the Nittany Lions due to a head-to-head victory a couple of weeks ago.

The winner of next weekend’s Ohio State-Indiana will have the inside track to Indianapolis going into the final week of the regular season. Indiana will wither be 11-0 and 8-0 in Big Ten play going into its final game of the regular season against 1-9 Purdue, or Ohio State will go into the final game of the regular season at home against Michigan already owning head-to-head tiebreakers against both Penn State and Indiana.

What are the tiebreakers?

The Big Ten released its conference championship game tiebreakers prior to the start of the season. They are mostly the same as they have been in previous years for division championship tiebreakers.

Here is the exact wording of the tiebreaker procedure for the Big Ten with more than two teams tied this season (this procedure is repeated until the number of tied teams is whittled down to two);

  1. The records of the three (or more) tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage in games among the tied teams
    (a) If all teams involved in the tie did not play each other, but one team defeated all other teams involved in the tie, the team that defeated all other teams in the tie is removed from the tiebreaker, and the remaining teams revert to the beginning of the applicable tiebreaker process (i.e., two team or three or more team tie).
    (b) If all teams involved in the tie did not play each other and no team defeated all other teams involved in the tie, move to the next step in tiebreaker.
  2. The records of the three (or more) tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage against all common conference opponents played by all other teams involved in the tie.
  3. The records of the three (or more) tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage against the next highest-placed common opponent in the standings in order of finish:
  4. The records of the three (or more) tied teams will be compared based on the best cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents:
    (a) In the event of an unbalanced schedule (i.e., less than nine conference games are played), the records of the three (or more) tied teams will be compared based on the best cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents, regardless of how many conference opponents each team played. If winning percentage is equal for all conference opponents, move to next step in tiebreaker.
  5. The representative will be chosen by the by the highest ranking by SportSource Analytics (team Rating Score metric) following the regular season.
  6. Random draw among the tied teams conducted by Commissioner or designee.

How does Penn State get into the Big Ten championship game?

The easiest way Penn State gets to Indy is by winning its final two games, Ohio State handing Indiana a loss, and then Ohio State and Indiana each lose their respective regular-season finales for two losses.

So what will it take for Penn State to creep past the Buckeyes and Hoosiers, and are there any tiebreakers that could break Penn State’s way?

First things first, Penn State cannot take another loss. Penn State must win its final two games at Minnesota and at home against Maryland to remain a one-loss team.

Ohio State may be the favorite at this point to get to Indy. The Buckeyes will likely be favored at home against Indiana and against Michigan the following weekend. If Ohio State beats Indiana, the Buckeyes will be sitting pretty when they face the Wolverines. A second Ohio State loss could knock Ohio State out of the mix entirely because catching Indiana will be impossible and Penn State could have just one loss on its record.

Indiana is in a tough spot if it loses to Ohio State this weekend. Indiana would likely need both Penn State and Ohio State to lose the final weekend of the season in order to make the short trip to Indianapolis.

If Penn State can handle its own business starting next week at Minnesota, then fans of the Nittany Lions will be in the awkward position of having to root for Ohio State (against Indiana) and then for Michigan (against Ohio State) in order to see Penn State in a tiebreaker with the Hoosiers.

The fourth tiebreaker is the one that would likely help Penn State over Indiana if it comes down to those two schools.

It’s a longshot for Penn State, sure. But there is still a path to the Big Ten championship game. Just root for the Buckeyes next week and then you’ll never have to root for them again.

Penn State will know where things stand prior to their next game. Ohio State and Indiana kick off their game next week at noon Eastern. Penn State will visit Minnesota at 3:30 p.m. Eastern.

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