While most of the former Pac-12 schools struggled with their transitions to the Big 10, Oregon was the lone exception, ending the regular season as the top-ranked team in the 2024-2025 College Football Playoffs. Ahead of its second season in its new conference, here are our 2025 Oregon football predictions.
The Ducks went 13-1 in 2024, setting a new program record for win percentage in a single season. They went a perfect 12-0 in the regular season before beating Penn State in the Big 10 Championship Game. However, Oregon's season would ultimately end with a 41-21 loss to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, which served as the College Football Playoff quarterfinal game.
Coming off the successful debut season, expectations are high for Dan Lanning and Oregon in 2025. However, Lanning faces the tough task of replacing his elite starting quarterback for the second straight offseason.
After losing Bo Nix, Oregon struck gold in the college football transfer portal by landing ex-Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel. With Gabriel now moving on to the NFL, the Ducks are once again turning to a transfer in Dante Moore. The former UCLA signal-caller does not have anywhere near Gabriel's prestige, but did spend a year behind the Hawaiian southpaw learning Lanning's system.
In addition to Gabriel, the Ducks had nine other players selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. Several other players also moved on, either due to graduation or entering the transfer portal. Oregon retained only a handful of starters as a result, but it once again brings in a plethora of elite transfers.
While a Big 10 title defense in 2025 seems unlikely, Oregon has already conquered another conference after years of dominating the Pac-12. With Week 1 inching closer, we have three bold predictions for Dan Lanning and Oregon's 2025 college football season.
Noah Whittington, Makhi Hughes combine for 2,000 rush yards
Oregon lost another all-conference running back with Jordan James entering the 2025 NFL Draft, but there might not be too much of a drop-off in production. The Ducks return veteran Noah Whittington to lead their backfield and added star Tulane transfer Makhi Hughes from the portal to form arguably the best backfield tandem in the Big 10.
All eyes are on Hughes, who nearly totaled 3,000 rushing yards in his last two years at Tulane. The two-time first-team All-AAC running back was one of the top players in the 2025 college football transfer portal before he committed to Dan Lanning and Oregon. Hughes has yet to consistently prove himself at a high level, but he has looked like a future NFL running back thus far.
However, Whittington, the oft-forgotten component of the group, might finally have his chance to be featured in Lanning's offense. Although coming off a quieter season behind James in 2024, Whittington is an explosive runner who is the veteran of the group. In his first season in Eugene, Whittington notched a career-high 779 rushing yards behind Bucky Irving in 2022.
As he prepares for his sixth season, Whittington is coming off a 540-yard season in 2024. He started the year slowly by design after coming off a season-ending injury in 2023. He was unable to match his 2022 production, but he managed to set a new career-high with six touchdowns.
Regardless of which running back wins the starting job, both should be heavily involved. Lanning's offenses at Oregon have typically featured a high-volume passing attack, but that could change in 2025. The Ducks go from having Heisman Trophy candidates under center to a player in Moore who struggled at UCLA in 2023.
Dante Moore will not end year as starting quarterback
Everybody is excited about Dante Moore, but many fans might be looking at the situation through rose-colored glasses. It would be difficult not to, given Oregon's recent history of boasting some of the best quarterbacks in college football.
Everything about Moore appears to be great on paper. He is a former top-five quarterback recruit who has had a year to sit behind Dillon Gabriel and learn Dan Lanning's scheme. His coaching staff and teammates seem to love what he has done so far with the team. Unfortunately, the results just have not been there on the field.
Moore got an immediate opportunity as a freshman at UCLA and threw for 1,610 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions in nine games. He failed to add any rushing yards — ending the year with -84 rushing yards due to sacks — while completing just 53.3 percent of his passes.
Although Moore was just a freshman in an unstable environment, he was thoroughly outplayed by the underwhelming Ethan Garbers. Had he returned to UCLA in 2024, he likely would have been Garbers' backup. Moore certainly has more talent around him at Oregon, but it is difficult to feel confident in his outlook given the results thus far.
Moore is the biggest name of the Ducks' 2025 quarterback room, but his competition cannot be overlooked. Former four-star recruit Austin Novosad, who joins him as a returning member of the group, appears to be his biggest threat. Novosad pushed Moore all offseason and was confident that he would win the starting job.
Lanning also brought in Akili Smith Jr., whose father has the 12th-most passing yards in Oregon football history. Although not as highly touted as his father, Smith has been with the team since December 2024 and has reportedly made significant progress.
Moore will begin the season as the starter, but his leash is not as long as many believe. He has the highest ceiling of the group, but Lanning has multiple other options if he struggles like he did at UCLA.
Oregon football will have best defense in Big 10
Since Dan Lanning took over in 2022, Oregon has boasted one of the most efficient offenses in college football. It has been fun to watch, and it also makes it easy to forget that Lanning built his career as an elite defensive coordinator at Georgia.
Since taking over the Ducks, Lanning has employed former Nick Saban disciple Tosh Lupoi as his defensive coordinator. Results have varied, but Lupoi certainly found a groove in 2024, during which Oregon allowed just 19.4 points per game. They only allowed four opponents to score 20 points or more.
With seven players leaving for the NFL, only three starters return — defensive ends Matayo Uiagalelei and Teitum Tuioti, and linebacker Bryce Boettcher. However, Oregon added a ton of talent in the 2025 college football transfer portal.
Lanning secured key commitments from defensive tackle Bear Alexander, cornerbacks Jadon Cannady and Theran Johnson and safety Dillon Thieneman. Canady, Johnson and Thieneman join the team after All-Conference campaigns in 2024. Canady was third in the SEC with 11 pass breakups on the year.
Despite the loss of all the talent, Oregon's defensive numbers could be even better in 2025. Uiagalelei, who led the team with 9.5 sacks in 2024, and Tuioti form one of the best edge-rushing duos in the country, and the talent-filled secondary looks like the best in the Big 10.
Oregon also faces a much softer schedule in 2025, avoiding matchups with Ohio State, Michigan and Illinois. They will have to face Penn State on the road, but they received a fairly favorable draw otherwise.
Much of the attention is rightfully on Oregon's elite offense on paper entering the 2025 college football season. However, their defense might be even better and has the ability to end the year as the best in the Big 10.
