Where Oregon football finished in every Associated Press poll since 2000
Oregon Ducks football finishing in the Top 10 of the final Associated Press in becoming a regular thing nowadays. Believe it or not, it wasn’t always like that.
The Ducks were a pretty good team in the early part of this century, but it wasn’t until Chip Kelly took over the reins from Mike Bellotti that Oregon started to dominate the Pac-12 and be a force on the national scene.
Now it would be a huge disappointment if the Ducks didn’t finish in the AP Top 10 and win their bowl game. Both were accomplished this season and as the Ducks go into the Big Ten for 2024 and beyond, plus the expansion of the College Football Playoffs, there’s no reason not to expect Oregon not to be a playoff hopeful on a yearly basis.
We decided to look back on the history of Oregon football and see where the Ducks began and finished in each AP poll since 2000.
2000
Started: Not Ranked
Finished: 7th
The Ducks had a better-than-expected season in 2000 as they finished 10-2 that year and ended the season with a 35-30 win over Texas in the Holiday Bowl. Their highest ranking that season was No. 5.
2001
Started: 7th
Finished: 2nd
This was the first time in program history where the Ducks could be considered as a true national title contender, but the BCS denied them a spot in the title game. Oregon had to settle for a 35-17 beating over Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl. They showed that maybe the BCS doesn’t always get these things right. Even after 23 years, the bitterness of this snub still remains.
2002
Started: 15th
Finished: Not Ranked
It was a transition year for Oregon as Joey Harrington moved on to the NFL. The Ducks finished 7-6 this year with losses to Oregon State and Wake Forest in the Seattle Bowl.
2003
Started: Not Ranked
Finished: Not Ranked
The Ducks were ranked as high as No. 10 after the 31-27 win over No. 3 Michigan. But the season was derailed as Oregon lost four of their next five. They did end the regular season on a three-game winning streak before losing 31-30 to Minnesota in the Sun Bowl.
2004
Started: Not Ranked
Finished: Not Ranked
This was a season to forget as Oregon finished 5-6 and missed a bowl game invite. The Ducks ended this year with a humiliating 50-21 loss to the Beavers in Corvallis.
2005
Started: Not Ranked
Finished: 12th
Oregon rebounded nicely after a bad season to finish 10-2 this year. The Ducks were ranked as high as No. 6, but fell 17-14 to Oklahoma in the Holiday Bowl.
2006
Started: 21st
Finished: Not Ranked
This season started out so well but ended poorly. Oregon was 4-0 and 7-2 at one point, but the Ducks lost their last four games, including a 38-8 setback to BYU in the Vegas Bowl.
2007
Started: Not Ranked
Finished: 23rd
In Chip Kelly’s first season as offensive coordinator, the Ducks turned some heads with a big win at Michigan. But Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon and two backups were injured and the Ducks lost their last three regular-season games. Oregon did bounce back to win the Sun Bowl 56-21 over South Florida to finish 9-4.
2008
Started: 21st
Finished: 10th
Oregon showed glimpses of what it could be, especially with a healthy Dennis Dixon. The Ducks finished 10-3 this year and ended the season with a 42-31 Holiday Bowl victory over Oklahoma State.
2009
Started: 16th
Finished: 11th
This was Chip Kelly’s first season as the head coach and while the beginning and the end weren’t good, everything in the middle was great. The Ducks made their first Rose Bowl since the 1994 season, but fell to Ohio State 26-17 to end the year 10-3.
2010
Started: 11th
Finished: 3rd
It was the breakthrough season fans had been waiting for. Oregon had a perfect 12-0 regular season and was heading to the BCS title game against Auburn. Unfortunately, the Tigers won 22-19 and denied the Ducks their first national championship. Michael Dyer was down and he’ll always be down.
2011
Started: 3rd
Finished: 4th
Oregon won another conference title and for the first time in 95 years, the Ducks won the Rose Bowl with a 45-38 win over Russell Wilson and his Wisconsin team. The Ducks finished 12-2.
2012
Started: 5th
Finished: 2nd
Oregon was set to make its second appearance in the national title game but was upset by No. 14 Stanford 17-14 at Autzen. The Ducks were angry and took it out on the Beavers 45-24 in the Civil War and then on Kansas State 35-17 in the Fiesta Bowl. Oregon settled for a 12-1 record and its highest finish ever in the AP poll.
2013
Started: 3rd
Finished: 9th
Oregon had a new head coach in Mark Helfrich and although the Ducks failed to play in a New Year’s Day bowl, they still had a great season at 11-2. Marcus Mariota and the Ducks dominated Texas 30-7 in the Alamo Bowl to set out for a special 2014 season.
2014
Started: 3rd
Finished: 2nd
Expectations were sky-high in Eugene and the Ducks didn’t disappoint. Oregon made the College Football Playoffs and made the title game behind their Heisman-winning quarterback thumping Florida State 59-20 in the Rose Bowl. They did fall short against Ohio State, but the 11-2 season was a year Duck fans will always remember.
2015
Started: 7th
Finished: 19th
Life without Mariota wasn’t easy and the Ducks slipped a notch. They did finish 9-4, however. New quarterback Vernon Adams led Oregon to a 38-36 upset win at No. 7 Stanford and if he didn’t get hurt, the Ducks most likely win the Alamo Bowl over No. 11 TCU. The less said about that game, the better.
2016
Started: 24th
Finished: Not Ranked
It was the end of the Mark Helfrich Era as the Ducks finished 4-8, their worst record in a very, very long time. But it was the beginning of the Justin Herbert Era, the latest local kid to play quarterback for the Ducks. It had a rough start, but ended with glory later on.
2017
Started: Not Ranked
Finished: Not Ranked
It was Willie Taggart’s only season with the Ducks, which was riddled with injuries. But beyond the injuries, it was obvious that Taggart and Oregon just wasn’t a good mix. Oregon finished 7-6, including a 38-28 loss to Boise State in the Vegas Bowl. Taggart had moved on to Florida State and left Mario Cristobal to coach the bowl game.
2018
Started: 24th
Finished: Not Ranked
Seemingly with some stability with the head coaching position, Oregon was able to finish 9-4 thanks to winning three straight games to end the season. The Ducks upset No. 7 Washington 30-27 in overtime that year to propel them to No. 12. That ranking went out the window due to losing three out of the next four. Oregon was able to smack the Beavers 55-15 and defeat Michigan State 7-6 in the RedBox Bowl.
2019
Started: 11th
Finished: 5th
Oregon was able to reclaim some past glory with a return to the Rose Bowl and defeating Wisconsin 28-27 in Justin Herbert’s last game. The Ducks finished 12-2.
2020
Started: 9th
Finished: Not Ranked
In a season everyone would like to forget with the pandemic, Oregon finished 4-3, including a Pac-12 championship win over USC. However, the Ducks fell to Iowa State 34-17 in the Fiesta Bowl.
2021
Started: 11th
Finished: 22nd
It was a strange season for Oregon as they finished 10-4, which is usually a good record. The Ducks won at Ohio State and everything was on the up and up. But a disappointing loss at Utah led Cristobal to look elsewhere. By the time Oregon was facing those same Utes in the Pac-12 title game, their coach was mentally in Miami and it showed with a 38-10 loss.
Losing Cristobal was still felt in the Alamo Bowl where Oregon was defeated 47-32 by Oklahoma.
2022
Started: 11th
Finished: 15th
With a new coach (Dan Lanning) and a new quarterback (Bo Nix), the Ducks wanted to show they were back and they did just that with a 10-3 finish, including a thrilling 28-27 win over North Carolina in the Holiday Bowl.
2023
Started: 15th
Finished: 6th
For the first time in about a decade, the Oregon fan can feel like the program doesn’t have a coach with a wandering eye of going elsewhere and is willing to stick it out for the long haul and the results show it.
Oregon finished 12-2 this season with the only two losses coming against Washington by a field goal each time. Nix was a Heisman finalist and Lanning is recruiting at a level never seen before at Oregon. As the Ducks join the Big Ten, there’s every reason to believe Oregon will compete for a national championship nearly every year and eventually will break through and capture a title.
