Oregon’s 2024 playoff run is anticipated to include a number of league opponents and former rivals.
The growth of the College Football Playoff and league realignment are the two main reasons why the 2017 college football season will undoubtedly change from what fans have become accustomed to over the last few decades.
With a roster full of returning players, Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks are well-positioned to compete at the top of the country in the upcoming months. They have made good use of the transfer portal to improve their team’s chances of success in this new era of college football.
Using the 5+7 formula (automatic slots for five conference champions, followed by the next seven highest-ranked teams), Brett McMurphy of The Action Network presented his preseason bowl projections for the new enlarged CFP with spring football still more than a month away.
The Ducks, according to his calculations, are regarded as the highest non-conference champion even though they would have lost the Big Ten Championship to Ohio State, a 2-seed.
According to McMurphy’s projection, Oregon would face Big Ten rival Michigan as an 11-seed in the opening round. With Oregon favored by a point over Michigan in this scenario, the Ducks defeat the Wolverines and advance to face third-seeded Florida State in the Peach Bowl.
Additionally, according to McMurphy, Oregon will defeat the Seminoles as 10-point favorites and face Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, setting up a rematch of the conference championship game that he outlined.
McMurphy projects the Ohio State Buckeyes to defeat Oregon once more, this time as 0.5-point favorites, and advance to the National Championship Game, where they will face the top-seeded Georgia Bulldogs.
I doubt many Oregon supporters would reject that final outcome in their team’s inaugural Big Ten season, even though it would mean another year without a title.