It's always hard, but it's relatively easy.
Dan Lanning and the Ducks have challenges, problems to solve in order to achieve their goals. This program wants to make the playoff and compete for a national championship, but that won't happen unless they identify leadership, gel in the secondary and on the offensive line.
Dante Moore has to operate the offense efficiently while avoiding critical mistakes that can cost a game: Red Zone turnovers, sack/fumbles, multiple interceptions. The defense has to get tougher against the pass.
It's always hard because football is hard, and everybody wants to beat Oregon, the Nike School, the team with the $20 million roster. As Geoff Schwartz said Wednesday on social media, the rule is when Oregon recruits a player it's because of money. If he decommits and chooses another school it's because of love of the program. Yeah, right.
Playing in an 18-team league, the schedule is always a factor in team success, because the schedules are inherently imbalanced. Everybody can't play everybody. Every year there will be teams that miss Oregon, Penn State or Ohio State, and a couple of teams that miss all three.
#waytooearlyBUT
— The Craz Report (@crazreport) March 30, 2025
I like Bear Alexander a lot
pic.twitter.com/GES7FbvWZ9
Jon Joseph of fishduck.com observed that in 2025, Oregon plays just two teams ranked in the Sporting News Top 25 Composite, a ranking that compiles 11 major preseason polls. Veteran college football writer Bill Bender does the legwork, tallying up rankings from Sports Illustrated, ESPN, CBS Sports, the Action Network and others:
Sporting News Preseason Top 25 Composite
1 Texas
2 Ohio State
3 Penn State
4 Georgia
5 Notre Dame
6 Oregon
7 Clemson
8 LSU
9 Alabama
10 Tennessee
11 Miami
12 South Carolina
13 Arizona State
14 Illinois
15 Florida
16 BYU
17 SMU
18 Kansas State
19 Michigan
20 Ole Miss
21 Indiana
22 Iowa State
23 Texas A&M
24 Louisville 32
25 Missouri 20
Receiving votes: Boise State 16, Georgia Tech 11, Texas Tech 10, Navy 10, Nebraska 9, Auburn 8, Baylor 7, UNLV 5, Oklahoma 5, North Carolina 5, Kansas 2, Iowa 2
The Big Ten has seven ranked teams at the start of spring practice, 149 days until actual football: Ohio State, Penn State, the Ducks, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. Nebaska and Iowa are way down among the others receiving votes, unranked but among the top 40 teams in the country by this slippery gauge of relative strength.
The Ducks miss Ohio State, Illinois, Michigan and Nebraska, by this count four of their seven toughest possible conference opponents, and they have Indiana at home. Penn State and Iowa on the road are widely acknowledged as their two toughest games.
But last year's close calls against Idaho and Boise State should convince anyone that no opponent should be overlooked. Posted below is the 2025 schedule. The Duck Store probably has a magnetic one suitable for hanging on the refrigerator.
The numbers in parenthesis includes the opponent's 2024 record and their over/under win total from FanDuel, another measure of relative strength. In the coming weeks Auten Zoo will post opponent previews, but it seemed useful to start with an overview:
2025 Oregon Football Schedule
Aug. 30 - Montana State (15-1, FCS runner-up in 2024)
Sept. 6 - Oklahoma State (3-9, last in the Big 12, O/U 5.5)
Sept. 13 - at Northwestern* (4-8, 16th in the Big 10, O/U 3.5)
Sept. 20 - Oregon State (5-7, PAC-12 "Champions," O/U NA)
Sept. 27 - at Penn State* (13-3, Playoff semifinalist, O/U 10.5)
Oct. 11 - Indiana* (11-2, lost in first round, O/U 8.5)
Oct. 18 - at Rutgers* (7-6, O/U NA)
Oct. 25 - Wisconsin* (5-7, missed a bowl, O/U 5.5)
Nov. 8 - at Iowa* (8-5, 6-3 in Big Ten, O/U 7.5)
Nov. 15 - Minnesota* (8-5, 5-4 in Big Ten, O/U 6.5)
Nov. 22 - USC* (7-6, won Las Vegas Bowl, O/U 7.5)
Nov. 29 - at Washington* (6-7, lost Sun Bowl, O/U 7/5)
* Denotes conference game
The 2025 season will be the truest test of Dan Lanning's ceiling as a head coach. Can he take a young team and mold them into a playoff contender? Can his staff develop a quarterback after making the calculated gamble to pass up the portal and go with Dante Moore, Austin Novosad, Luke Moga and Akili Smith Jr.?
Although there are questions, the schedule is favorable. But in the words of the immortal Herman Edwards, "You PLAY to win the GAME."