Ducks see movement in updated 2024 Top 25 rankings from The Athletic
One thing that has become commonplace in the world of college football these days is everyone putting out their way-too-early rankings for the upcoming season as soon as the previous season comes to an end.
What isn’t as common, though, is the top of the football world seeing a major shift in the days and weeks after those rankings come out.
That’s what happened this offseason, though, with legendary coach Nick Saban retiring in early January, leading national championship runner-up coach Kalen DeBoer to leave the Washington Huskies and take the head coaching job for the Alabama Crimson Tide. This then led Arizona Wildcats head coach Jedd Fisch to leave Tucson and head north to Seattle. Meanwhile, Jim Harbaugh announced his departure from Michigan to the NFL, taking over as the new head coach for the Los Angeles Chargers, though that move didn’t cause as much upheaval as the previous trio.
It’s safe to say that there has been a lot of movement since those initial top-25 rankings came out earlier this month. It caused us to update our preseason rankings, and now it’s led The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel to do the same.
Here’s where he had the Oregon Ducks ranked in his updated way-too-early top 25 for the 2024 season:
Georgia Bulldogs
Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 1
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 1
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 1
Ohio State Buckeyes
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 4
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 2
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 5
Texas Longhorns
Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 5
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 4
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 2
Oregon Ducks
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 3
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 3
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 3
Ole Miss Rebels
Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 8
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 5
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 7
Michigan Wolverines
Michael Allio-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 6
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 6
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 6
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 9
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 10
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 10
Alabama Crimson Tide
(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 2
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 8
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 4
Utah Utes
Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 11
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 7
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 13
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 12
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 15
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 18
Louisville Cardinals
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 16
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 21
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 22
Missouri Tigers
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 21
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 9
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 8
Arizona Wildcats
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 13
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 22
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 9
Florida State Seminoles
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 19
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 14
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 16
Oklahoma Sooners
Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 15
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 11
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 15
Penn State Nittany Lions
Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 18
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 13
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 12
Tennessee Volunteers
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 16
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 17
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 17
Kansas Jayhawks
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 17
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: N/A
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 23
Clemson Tigers
Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 10
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 16
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 19
LSU Tigers
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 20
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 12
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 14
Texas A&M Aggies
Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: N/A
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: N/A
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: N/A
Iowa Hawkeyes
Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 22
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 20
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 25
North Carolina State Wolfpack
William Howard-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: N/A
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: N/A
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: No. 20
Iowa State Cyclones
Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: No. 23
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: N/A
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: N/A
Miami Hurricanes
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Athletic Ranking: N/A
Ducks Wire Top 25 Ranking: No. 23
ESPN Top 25 Ranking: N/A
