The AP Top 25 doesn't come out until mid-August, but NFL veteran and Oregon great George Wrighster III named his on his podcast this weekend.
Not surprisingly, Wrighster picked the Ducks No. 1 but he insisted, "No bias. Just the real."
My Preseason College Football Top 25 Rankings
— George Wrighster III (@georgewrighster) July 5, 2026
No Bias… Just the real! pic.twitter.com/uCNUNOmuCQ
Wrighster picks seven from the B1G and the Ducks play five of them
Wrighster's not alone in ranking UO high. Last week on the Paul Finebaum Show On3's Ralph Russo said, "It feels like it's Oregon's turn." Fox Sports color analyst Joel Klatt named Dante Moore the best quarterback in college football recently on his podcast.
The Ducks have a combination of power and speed at running back, a deep wide receiver room and one of the country's best tight ends in Jamari Johnson. The offensive line returns just two starters in guard Dave Iuli and center Poncho Laloulu, but A'lique Terry has crafted three straight Joe Moore Award finalist units over the last three seasons.
The defense features four senior defensive linemen who passed up the NFL draft in Matayo Uiagalelei, A'Mauri Washington, Teitum Tuioti and Bear Alexander.
All of these assets are well-known and chronicled throughout the spring in this space, but less examined is just how difficult Oregon's road to a first-ever national championship really is. The Ducks will face Wrightster's No. 3, No. 12, No. 13, No. 19 and No. 24 opponents, and three of those games are on the road.
September 28 they travel to The Coliseum to face Jayden Maiava and No. 12 USC. October 24 they travel to Champaign for a game against Brett Bielema and Illinois. On November 7 they'll visit the Horseshoe to take on Jeremiah Smith and the Buckeyes, a team that beat them by three touchdowns in the 2025 Rose Bowl. It's likely to be a Big Noon matchup on a 9:00 a.m. body clock.
A week after that road trip they host Kyle Whittingham and his new-look Wolverines, followed by a Friday night game at unranked Michigan State before closing the regular season with the rivalry game against Demond Williams and Washington in Autzen Stadium.
In all five ranked opponents, three of them on the road. If Oregon is still No. 1 in December they will have earned it.
Making the College Football Playoff is merely the first two laps of a three-lap race. There's a possible rematch with either Ohio State or Indiana in the Big Ten Championship, then three or four playoff rounds to claim a title, each against a Top 12 opponent. Winning one is way harder than it used to be in the days teams just had to win one bowl game and finish No. 1 in one of four or five polls to "claim" the national championship.
No bias. Just the real.
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