Herbstreit names surprise national championship contender

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Kirk Herbstreit names surprise potential national championship contender

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated Jul 24, 2024 5:18 PM ET

With the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams this season, the chance of a surprise team winning the national title is arguably greater than ever.

Which is why during his Wednesday appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit had a mildly surprising pick to win the national title this season.

“Look out for the old Oregon Ducks,” Herbstreit said. “I may have Oregon winning it all. If you [quote me] on that, I said I may have Oregon winning it all.”

Herbstreit being noncommittal to go all-in on Oregon is understandable.

Oregon currently has +900 odds of winning the national championship, per DraftKings, and it’ll have some stiff competition from national title favorites Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas.

The Ducks also have a few tough games in the middle of their schedule including dates with Ohio State (Oct. 12), Michigan (Nov. 2), Wisconsin (Nov. 16) and Washington (Nov. 30.)

"Ohio State and Oregon.. those are the two best bets" ✌️@BillBender92 joins @CraigMish to discuss the odds for the Big Ten in 2024

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— SportsGrid (@SportsGrid) July 3, 2024

The Ducks haven’t played a down in the Big Ten conference yet, and they’re breaking in a new quarterback in Dillon Gabriel after losing Bo Nix to the NFL Draft in April.

Though Gabriel, who threw for 3,660 yards and 30 touchdowns last season at Oklahoma, is a Heisman favorite, he’s also a lefty and Oregon will have to switch things up a bit on the offensive line to better protect him (Nix was a righty.)

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning has the Ducks trending in the right direction after winning 12 games last season. He returns several key pieces from his 2023 team including 1,000-yard receiver Tez Johnson and sophomore running back Jordan James, plus Oregon added projected 2025 first-round receiver Evan Stewart in the transfer portal.

Michael Gallagher

Michael Gallagher is a longtime sports journalist based out of Nashville with a decade of experience covering college football, mixed martial arts and prep sports plus the NFL and NHL — specifically the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators. He’s covered several notable sporting events including an AFC Championship game, a Stanley Cup Final, an NHL All-Star Game and an NHL Stadium Series. Some of his past bylines can be found at the Nashville Scene, SB Nation, The Hockey News and Fox Sports Knoxville

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