Ducks fall in post-spring ESPN power rankings; Five Pac-12 teams in top 25

zachary neel

Thu, May 4, 2023, 8:27 AM·4 min read

One of the more trivial things that we do in the business of covering college football is making early predictions based on very little information.

For instance, you can guarantee that the morning after the national championship game each year, there will be a litany of “Way-Too-Early Top-25 Rankings” fresh in your news feed. It’s like clockwork.

What are those rankings based on? Largely returning production and very loose expectations. At that point in time, we had no idea how most rosters were going to shape up, who was going to transfer where, which team would have the top recruiting classes, or even where all of the top head coaches in the game will ultimately be.

It’s a bit early to make legitimate predictions, but we do it nonetheless.

In May after the spring football season has come and gone, another batch of rankings comes out. That seems like a much better evaluation period, doesn’t it?

The transfer portal is closed, recruiting classes are signed, and we’ve seen a ton of spring practices and spring games. It feels like we have a much better grasp of how good the top teams in the nation are.

So how do they stack up, and more importantly, where do the Oregon Ducks rank? Let’s take a look, according to the ESPN Post-Spring Power Rankings

Georgia Bulldogs

Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports

Pre-Spring ESPN Top-25 Ranking: 1st

Final AP Standing in 2022: 1st

Michigan Wolverines

Michael Allio-USA TODAY Sports

Pre-Spring ESPN Top-25 Ranking: 3rd

Final AP Standing in 2022: 3rd

Florida State Seminoles

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Pre-Spring ESPN Top-25 Ranking: 4th

Final AP Standing in 2022: 11th

USC Trojans

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Pre-Spring ESPN Top-25 Ranking: 7th

Final AP Standing in 2022: 12th

Ohio State Buckeyes

Pre-Spring ESPN Top-25 Ranking: 2nd

Final AP Standing in 2022: 4th

Alabama Crimson Tide

(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Pre-Spring ESPN Top-25 Ranking: 5th

Final AP Standing in 2022: 5th

LSU Tigers

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Pre-Spring ESPN Top-25 Ranking: 8th

Final AP Standing in 2022: 16th

Penn State Nittany Lions

Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Pre-Spring ESPN Top-25 Ranking: 6th

Final AP Standing in 2022: 7th

Clemson Tigers

Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Pre-Spring ESPN Top-25 Ranking: 15th

Final AP Standing in 2022: 13th

Texas Longhorns

Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Pre-Spring ESPN Top-25 Ranking: 16th

Final AP Standing in 2022: 25th

Tennessee Volunteers

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Pre-Spring ESPN Top-25 Ranking: 10th

Final AP Standing in 2022: 6th

Washington Huskies

James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Pre-Spring ESPN Top-25 Ranking: 11th

Final AP Standing in 2022: 8th

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Pre-Spring ESPN Top-25 Ranking: 14th

Final AP Standing in 2022: 18th

Utah Utes

Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Pre-Spring ESPN Top-25 Ranking: 13th

Final AP Standing in 2022: 10th

Oregon Ducks

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Pre-Spring ESPN Top-25 Ranking: 9th

Final AP Standing in 2022: 15th

TCU Horned Frogs

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Pre-Spring ESPN Top-25 Ranking: 12th

Final AP Standing in 2022: 2nd

Oregon State Beavers

James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Pre-Spring ESPN Top-25 Ranking: 17th

Final AP Standing in 2022: 17th

Kansas State Wildcats

Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

Pre-Spring ESPN Top-25 Ranking: 18th

Final AP Standing in 2022: 14th

Tulane Green Wave

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Pre-Spring ESPN Top-25 Ranking: 19th

Final AP Standing in 2022: 9th

Texas Tech Red Raiders