Associated Press: Oregon Ducks Begin 2016 Ranked 24th
The Oregon Ducks are lacking respect following the end of 2015, but voters found enough for them to start 2016 ranked.
More from Autzen Zoo
- Oregon football: Ducks and Coach Prime playing it cordial leading up to Saturday
- Oregon Basketball: Non-conference slate features Michigan coming to Eugene
- Oregon football: Ducks find complete game effort in win vs Hawaii
- Oregon Ducks must get run game going against Hawaii
- 8 Pac-12 teams represented in Associated Press Top 25 after Week 2
On Sunday the Associated Press Top 25 was released signalling the start of the 2016 season. As is standard procedure the last few years, the Alabama Crimson Tide is at the top. Over the last few seasons the Oregon Ducks have been anywhere from just inside to outside the Top 25 to begin the season. Entering 2016, Oregon is slotted at 24th to begin the year.
Mark Helfrich and Company have already said that they do not even look at polls or rankings. They don’t matter at this point. For fans it can sometimes be a good gauge – at least until someone gets knocked out by an upset. This year, Oregon will have to upset some in the Pac-12 to move up. One surprise is that Washington is ranked ahead of the Ducks in the preliminary poll.
The rivalry between Oregon and Washington is well documented. The Ducks have gotten the better of the Huskies over a decade now, but the Purple and Gold have a better than average Defense entering the season while Oregon is installing a new Defense that should be up to speed by the time Pac-12 season hits in late September.
The Huskies are ranked as the highest Pac-12 team in the poll with Stanford(8), Washington comes in 14th. UCLA is 16th, and USC 20th.
Part of the reason that Oregon is slotted so low? Nineteen of the pollsters did not have the Ducks on their ballot. Several wins in the preseason could easily change that as Oregon has some top of mind awareness, but lost some respect after losing to TCU to end the year in 2015.
Next: Cornerback Chris Siesay Leaves Program
Oregon begins the 2016 season on Saturday, September 3rd hosting UC Davis at Autzen Stadium.(2pm Pacific Time, Pac-12 Networks)