Oregon head coach Dan Lanning has turned the Ducks into a top-tier, blue blood, college football program and now, his team can call themselves National Champions.
Despite losing to Ohio State in their first (and only) postseason matchup of the season when the two Big Ten rivals clashed in the quarterfinal round of the College Football Playoffs at the Rose Bowl, the Oregon Ducks have been named as the No. 1 team in the nation after the season reached its conclusion... even though the Buckeyes won the actual National Championship game.
The Wolfe ranking system, one of the NCAA-recognized National Champion Major Selectors, placed Oregon at No. 1, right ahead of the Ohio State Buckeyes at No. 2
Final Wolfe ratings for the 2024-25 college football season are out. Oregon, not CFP champion Ohio State, are the top-ranked team.
— Freddy Airmail (@freddy_airmail) January 21, 2025
Even though they lost in the tournament quarterfinals, the Oregon Ducks are one major selector's national champions.https://t.co/nSIK3M3ptL pic.twitter.com/orzPmbyU1y
Now, the Jeff Anderson & Chris Hester college football computer rankings also put the Ducks atop the Buckeyes and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish who lost to Ohio State in the National Championship.
2nd NCAA selector poll has claimed Oregon as #1
— CFB Home (@CFBHome) January 25, 2025
Anderson & Hester ratings put Oregon as the 2024-25 national champions.https://t.co/6NZpBixAZU pic.twitter.com/XXj5NhR9xb
The NCAA uses many factors and polls to determine the National Champion after every season concludes. The Wolfe Rating is one of those selectors or polls that the NCAA uses alongside the actual winner of the National Championship game.
This is the first season since 2003 in which multiple teams will be crowned by multiple selectors – some have crowned the Buckeyes while Wolfe and Anderson & Hester have crowned the Ducks.
Following the release of the Anderson & Hester rankings, the internet once again blew up as the Ducks started referring to themselves as National Champions, much to the chagrin of Ohio State. While Lanning might not care about rankings, the recognition of his building Oregon to the top team in the nation is a huge accomplishment.