Oregon Ducks Receive Surprising Ranking from College Football Analyst

ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy recently put together a new top-25 ranking for college football, taking into account what he saw on the field from various teams in week one. McElroy has three Big Ten teams in his top five, with Ohio State taking the No. 1 spot, Penn State taking the No. 3 spot, and the Oregon Ducks at No. 5.

Two SEC teams made McElroy's top five, with LSU at No. 2 after the Tigers had an impressive win at Clemson, and Georgia at No. 4 after the Bulldogs got off to winning ways against Marshall. 

Oregon being ranked at No. 5 by McElroy is most likely a fair assessment of where they should be. The Ducks defeated Montana State in a manner that most Ducks fans thought they would beat Idaho in last year's opener. Oregon is ranked higher in McElroy's new top-25 than Notre Dame and Texas, who both suffered narrow losses in week one. 

The Ducks are also ranked higher than Miami, who defeated Notre Dame 27-24 in their season opener, which reveals just how high on the Ducks McElroy really is. There are some big notable changes from the AP Top 25 and McElroy’s rankings. USC is unranked in the AP Poll, but McElroy has them at No. 17 on his rankings.

Is Oregon a Top-5 Team?

The College Football Playoff rankings don't make their way to the public eye until the regular season progresses, but McElroy is a respected analyst, and his top-25 rankings could potentially reveal how the CFP Selection Committee feels about Oregon after their first game.

A massive test looms for the Ducks in week two this coming weekend. Unranked Oklahoma State will attempt to hand the Ducks their first non-conference loss at Autzen Stadium since 2008, when Boise State walked out of Autzen with a win. 

According to Greg McElroy’s top 25, the Ducks will play three ranked teams during the season. Oregon’s toughest game will be away in Happy Valley at Penn State, then they will host both Illinois and USC later in the year.