Oregon
Oregon Ducks College Football Playoff Predictions: Semifinal Loss To Ohio State Buckeyes?
The Oregon Ducks are entering year three under coach Dan Lanning with championship-sized hopes and expectations. The 2024 college football season is brimming with change, as Oregon joins the Big Ten conference in the first season of the expanded 12-team format for the College Football Playoff.
Lanning and the Ducks boast an impressive roster of veterans plus the addition of the Big Ten’s best transfer class. Transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel, wide receiver Evan Stewart, cornerback Jabbar Muhammad, defensive lineman Derrick Harmon and defensive lineman Jamaree Caldwell are already making their presence felt in Eugene.
Stewart and returner Tez Johnson lead a wide receiver unit that could be the best in the country. What does Stewart want in 2024?
“That ball, man. I’m trying to get those passes,” Stewart said after practice this spring. “Oregon suited everything that I was looking for. I wanted to bein a great program that had a lot of order and construction. Everything is so much better here, honestly, I’m happy with my decision.”
The Ducks are confident in their abilities to compete against the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and others in the Big Ten. Oregon has the third-best odds to make the College Football Playoff, trailing only Ohio State and Georgia.
Lanning hopes to build on his success during his two seasons as head coach. Lanning’s 22-5 record and two bowl game victories are a product of the old adage, practice makes perfect.
“It’s so competitive (at practice),” Johnson told Oregon Sports Illustrated’s Bri Amaranthus. “You would think we’re out there in a national championship game playing against whoever – we’re so intense at practice.”
Are the Ducks National Championship bound? Oregon reaches the semifinals to face the Ohio State Buckeyes, but loses to fall short of the title game, in a new prediction from CBS Sports below:
FIRST ROUND
No. 12 Liberty at No. 5 Oregon
The prediction here is that Oregon earns the No. 5 seed in their first season in the Big Ten. The Ducks have a rematch in the first round of the College Football Playoff against the Liberty Flames who are projected to finish undefeated again.
No. 4 Kansas State vs. No. 5 Oregon (Fiesta Bowl)
Oregon would face the winner of the Big 12, in this case the Kansas State Wildcats.
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Oregon (Orange Bowl)
If this matchup is to happen, it’d likely be the third time the Ducks face Ryan Day’s Buckeyes: A regular season matchup in Autzen Stadium, a Big Ten Championship showdown and then the Semifinals game. Can you imagine the drama?
From there… the prediction is No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Georgia in the National Championship game.
The good times keep on rolling for the Oregon Ducks in the recruiting world. Dan Lanning and the Ducks scored a massive commitment from five-star quarterback Will Mencl out of Chandler, Arizona.
Oregon had been rumored to be leading the race for Mencl’s services for months, but the No. 1 quarterback in the country, per Rivals, cleared the air and committed to the Ducks on Wednesday evening. Mencl chose the Ducks over Auburn and Penn State, both of which battled hard for him down the stretch.
However, Mencl has been connected to Oregon for a long time. While he was offered last fall before breaking out in his junior season, Mencl has been a fan of the program long before he popped up on the Ducks’ recruiting radar. In a post shared by Rivals recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong, Mencl was announced as a quarterback for the Ducks when he was a kid at the 2019 NFL Draft fan experience in 2019.
Now, Mencl is ready to don the green and yellow for real and make his childhood dreams come true. The Ducks have made a point to get Mencl on campus as often as possible and as recently as last week. The continued connection between both sides is ultimately what made the decision easy for the nation’s top passer. Mencl said he told Lanning and the Oregon staff about his decision on Sunday.
“The biggest thing was the relationship with the staff,” Mencl said after committing. “I feel like that continued to grow over time, especially when I first got there last spring. Being able to sit down with Coach Koa, really being an underlooked guy at that time, and kind of blowing up my junior season. And then, the path to the NFL. You can’t deny what they do with quarterbacks and the type of scheme they run. I felt like that was the best fit for me and my family to get to the next level.”
Koa Ka’ai, Oregon’s new quarterback coach, made waves earlier in the offseason after his recruiting test about ice cream flavors went viral, but that doesn’t appear to have scared Mencl off. In fact, the two have a close connection that Oregon hopes will translate to success on the field in the near future.
“My relationship with Coach Koa, I feel like that is super, super strong,” Mencl told Rivals. “I’ve had a lot of discussions with Coach Lanning about the culture there and how they’re going to continue to sustain greatness throughout the program.”
Mencl exploded onto the national recruiting scene with a massive junior season for Chandler. He completed more than 70% of his passes for 3,815 yards and 33 touchdowns against five interceptions in his junior season, leading Chandler to a state title berth. He also rushed for 741 yards and an additional 17 touchdowns.
The Ducks expect to have some competition for Mencl to compete with when he joins the team for the 2027 season, with Dylan Raiola and Akili Smith Jr. already on the roster and competing for a role as the backup. Oregon has gone to the transfer portal as well in recent seasons, finding success with Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and now Dante Moore.
Oregon has recruited well at quarterback in the past, establishing an NFL pedigree that attracted Mencl. Maybe he will be the one to buck the trend and give the Ducks a true, homegrown product under center.
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‘Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,’ a Wine Enthusiast contributor said of an Oregon wine
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Wine Enthusiast released a list of the top 40 sparkling wines around the world in 2026 – highlighting two bottles of bubbly from Oregon.
“While it can seem like you need a fortune to enjoy high quality sparkling wine, you honestly don’t. Excellent affordable bubbles are being produced around the world, often in places you might not expect. Each of the selections on our inaugural Top 40 Sparkling Wines list delivers personality, freshness, and celebration for under $75,” Wine Enthusiast wrote.
Wine Enthusiast divided its list into separate sparkling categories including, Champagne, Italian Bollicine, American sparkling and bottles $25 and under.
Snagging a spot on the American sparkling list: Corollary Wines in McMinnville.
Corollarly’s 2021 Momtazi Carbonic Rosé Pinot Noir scored 96 points from Wine Enthusiast.
“This is a Peter Max print of a wine, with vivid aromas and flavors to match the wine’s electric Kool-Aid color. It is filled to the brim with aromas and flavors of macerated strawberries, candied rose petals, apricots, and a bitter note similar to watermelon rind. Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,” wrote Wine Enthusiast contributor Michael Alberty.
The second Oregon winery to earn a spot on the list: Lytle-Barnett in Dundee.
Wine Enthusiast also gave Lytle-Barnett’s 2018 Brut Rosé Pinot Noir Chardonnay 96 points.
“Bubbles as persistent as an eight-year-old with a question deliver aromas of dried rose petals, macerated strawberries, and a touch of fresh hay and talc. This 70/30 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blend is packed with flavors of lemon zest, Honeycrisp apple slices drizzled in caramel, and a dollop of raspberry,” Alberty wrote.
The nods to Corollary and Lytle-Barnett come as the wineries recently helped launch Method Oregon, a nonprofit made up of 50 Oregon wineries aiming to turn Oregon into a global sparkling wine destination.
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