Despite retaining star quarterback Dante Moore, the Oregon Ducks fall behind a powerhouse rival in offseason rankings amid coaching staff shakeups and significant departures to the NFL.
The Oregon Ducks received arguably the best news in college football this offseason when quarterback Dante Moore announced that he would return for another season in Eugene.
Moore would have been a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. There are reportedly some that think he's the best player for the 2027 NFL Draft, even over Texas quarterback Arch Manning.
ESPN's Eli Lederman, Max Olson, and Adam Rittenberg recently ranked the Ducks as having the No. 2 offseason in the Big Ten. While that's not bad for Oregon, ESPN ranked the program that beat them twice last season at No. 1.
Indiana had a stable recruiting and transfer class. They kept their core coaching staff after winning the national championship.
Losing quarterback Fernando Mendoza is a negative, but the Hoosiers brought in Josh Hoover from TCU. Hoover will target receiver Nick Marsh.
For Oregon, things were a little more shaky. Chris Hampton is the new defensive coordinator after Tosh Lupoi left to become the head coach of Cal. Drew Mehringer is the new offensive coordinator after Will Stein left to become the head coach of Kentucky.
ESPN noted Oregon has a few notable challenges to catch Indiana this fall.
"The Ducks lost a sizable group to the NFL draft, including first-rounders (Kenyon) Sadiq and (Dillon) Thieneman, plus five more draft picks, but the overall total could have been much higher.”
"Replacing both coordinators in the same year ahead of a season with national championship implications isn't ideal, but Lanning was prepared for the departures and had successors in the building ready to go.
"The Ducks absorbed several depth hits in the portal, especially in the defensive front seven with Ashton Porter, Blake Purchase, Terrance Green, Jericho Johnson, and others departing, as well as talented tight end Roger Saleapaga and wide receiver Kyler Kasper."
How the new coordinators do with their respective units could be critical for the Ducks. Both sides of the ball are loaded with talent, but Oregon will play one of the tougher schedules in college football this season.
The margin for error will be slim at times this season, and the new coaching staff will be tested.