3 reasons Oregon football should be ranked No. 1 ahead of 2024 season
Dan Lanning and Oregon football enter the 2024 season with something to prove.
While the Ducks finished the 2023 campaign with a 12-2 record and a resounding Fiesta Bowl win over Liberty, they fell short of their goals, losing to rival Washington twice in the span of a couple of months. The first loss came back in October, 36-33, at Washington and the playoff-crushing defeat was in the final Pac-12 title game ever, 34-31.
Two three-point losses were the difference between the Ducks playing in a New Year's Six bowl against Liberty or making the playoff and facing a team like Texas in the semifinal.
If I were a betting man (I am) and Oregon had made the playoff last year, I would've put money on the Ducks to make the national title game and beat Michigan. I truly believe that Georgia and Oregon were the two biggest challengers to Michigan a season ago and neither ended up making the playoff.
But this is a new year and Oregon is already ranked No. 3 in the preseason Coaches Poll behind Georgia and Ohio State.
However, I think Oregon should be No. 1, and here's why.
3. Elite incoming transfer class
While we could sit here and talk about how good the incoming 2024 recruiting class is, I would rather focus on guys who will have an immediate impact on the upcoming season.
Sure, there will be some freshmen who could start or have major impacts, but the transfers are usually guys who choose a school based on potential playing time awaiting them. Big-time transfers don't pick schools if they're not projected to start or play meaningful snaps.
And Oregon has the No. 2 transfer class in the nation, supplementing already one of the best rosters in the country. This incoming transfer class is elite and it's bringing in some legitimate All-American candidates like Dillon Gabriel, Jamaree Caldwell, Jabbar Muhammad, Kam Alexander, Derrick Harmon, Evan Stewart, and Peyton Woodyard. These guys will improve every position group.
2. Dillon Gabriel is as close to an upgrade as you can get
While I have a hard time believing that you can legitimately "upgrade" from a quarterback who passed for 4,506 yards and 45 touchdowns a season ago with only three picks, I do think that Dillon Gabriel is the closest possible thing to an "upgrade" that you could get at the position.
For those worried that the quarterback position may take a step back, realize that Gabriel had 3,660 yards and 30 touchdowns with only six picks and a 69 percent completion rate last year.
Gabriel has four seasons of 3,000-plus yards and two different programs and also has four seasons of 25-plus touchdown passes and has a career completion rate well over 60 percent. He's also never thrown more than seven interceptions in a single season.
This offense is going to flourish, especially with a former five-star as his backup.
1. Dan Lanning may be the Big Ten's best coach
In Oregon's first year as a member of the Big Ten, it might just have the conference's best coach.
Some will argue that Ryan Day is the best coach in the Big Ten and there's a legitimate case there, but with Jim Harbaugh gone and James Franklin battling inconsistency throughout his Penn State career, Lanning might just be the best coach the conference has to offer.
Through his first two seasons at Oregon, Lanning is 22-5 with a 15-3 mark in Pac-12 play and he's moving to a conference he should fare well in. He's gotten better each of his first two seasons and I think he'll improve yet again in 2024 which is a scary thought.
An elite roster with arguably the best coach in the conference? That sounds like a No. 1-worthy team to me.