It has now been over three months since the Michigan football team raised the national championship trophy back in January at NRG Stadium in Houston. It was a season to remember in college football as it was the last year of the four-team College Football Playoff, and it was also the last year of the Pac-12. There are going to be a lot of changes next season, and there have also been a lot of changes in this offseason already in terms of coaching moves and the transfer portal. Now, spring football is well underway, and a sense of hope has returned to college football fans. Oregon football has their spring game next week, and Ducks fans can't wait for that, and also the season.
Spring football is a special time of year as fans across the country get to see their new team in action for the first time. It's hard to tell much about a team from spring practices, but it's still fun to see the teams on the field competing against each other, and football fans are all eager for the new season to roll around. The first few months of the offseason are tough to get through and the football season seems so far away. Now, the weather is warming up, and you can sense that the new season is nearing. There is still a ways to go, but it's coming.
This next season of college football is going to be an exciting one, and there are a ton of reasons to be looking forward to it. There are a lot of changes coming to the game like rule changes, coaching changes, conference changes and playoff changes. Perhaps the most intriguing part of the new season will be the new conferences. The Pac-12 is gone, and the Big Ten and SEC are going to be loaded. They both seem to be on the verge of forming super conferences.
The SEC will be welcoming Texas and Oklahoma to the conference next year, and the Big Ten is getting a good crop of Pac-12 teams as USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington are all joining the conference. Both the Big Ten and the SEC are going to be absolutely loaded next year, and it seems like more schools will potentially join the conferences in the future.
Next season, the College Football Playoff will look different as well as it is expanding to 12 teams. There will also be first round games on college campuses. More teams will have a chance to make the CFP, and there will be more games. It's going to be fun.
Oregon football wants to take the next step in 2024
The Oregon football team had a good season last year and they were one of the best teams in college football. The Ducks lost only two games, and they were both to Washington, who made it all the way to the national title game. Oregon had a chance to get into the College Football Playoff as they played the Huskies in the Pac-12 title game, and they were surprisingly big 9.5-point favorites. That line didn't make a ton of sense since Washington beat Oregon earlier in the year and they were undefeated, and the Huskies ended up winning outright to squash the Ducks' hopes of winning a national title.
Oregon football should once again be a contender in 2024. It will be a big year for the program as they are no longer in the Pac-12 and they will be competing in the Big Ten for the first time along with USC, UCLA and Washington. It's going to be a big change, but the Ducks are expected to be one of the best teams in the conference. They are bringing some good talent back from last year's team, and they have already picked up some great talent in the transfer portal.
This team is once again loaded with good talent, and it's going to be fun to see those players compete for starting jobs. Here are a couple important position battles to keep an eye on during the offseason.
Quarterback
The QB position is the most important one in football, and the Ducks have an interesting situation there this offseason. Oregon football is losing their star QB Bo Nix to the NFL, but they picked up two power-five starters in the transfer portal. Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore both transferred over to the Ducks, and they are both very talented QBs.
Dillon Gabriel is expected to be the starting QB for the Ducks next season, but Moore is a talented QB and he is going to give it his all in this QB competition. Moore certainly doesn't have as much experience as Gabriel and this will be Gabriel's only season in Eugene as this is his third school and he is a senior. However, there are no guarantees in football. If Moore is performing better than Gabriel, then he will win the starting job, simple as that.
If Dillon Gabriel does end up winning the starting job, it will still be interesting to see what Oregon does with Dante Moore. He definitely had some freshman struggles last year with UCLA, but that was to be expected. He showed a ton of potential last season as well, and don't be surprised if the Ducks find a way to get him involved next season even if he doesn't win the starting QB job.
Running back
Oregon football is also losing a star player over at running back as Bucky Irving will not be back with the Ducks next year. The RB position is obviously different than QB because whoever loses the battle and gets the RB2 role will still get a good amount of touches, but it will still be interesting to see who officially becomes RB1 for the Ducks.
James Jordan will likely be RB1, but it will be interesting to see what Noah Whittington can do this offseason. He had a solid year in 2022 before taking a step back numbers-wise last year. He will be looking for a bounce back season, and he will be hungry in the offseason.
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