Prior to the preseason AP poll being released earlier this week, there was a consensus among college football circles that two teams had a chance to claim the No. 1 spot: The Oregon Ducks and Ohio State Buckeyes. Well, the results have come in, with the Buckeyes holding the top spot and the Ducks coming just behind them.
Both rosters are stacked with NFL-caliber talent, NFL-caliber coaching staffs and have had significant success with many of their contributors from last season. There's nary a hole on either roster, with blue-chippers occupying nearly every position.
But for ESPN's Paul Finebaum, one of college football's most notable personalities, the wrong decision was made by the AP voters.
"The number one team ought to be Oregon,” Finebaum
said on Get Up. "They have the quarterback back … Dante Moore probably could have been playing in your backyard (Greeny) and losing as often as the Jets did last year … But the point is, Oregon has everything going for them. They also have a chip on their shoulder after getting blown out the last two years in the playoffs. And frankly, if it wasn’t Oregon, I would put Notre Dame there. Ohio State should be about third or fourth. I like what you said about Texas, but they’re not number one."
The fact is that Moore is back for the Ducks this fall, passing on an opportunity to contend for the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft in order to further ready himself for the pros and chase a national title in Eugene. But Ohio State passer Julian Sayin is a similar case, as he was a prolific passer (77.0% completion percentage, 3,610 yards, 32 touchdowns) in his first season as the starter and will have his top returning target in Jeremiah Smith back for his junior campaign.
While there's almost no debate for Sayin as a better NFL prospect than Moore, there is a debate over who is the better college quarterback and who has the better situation around them. Both defenses are pretty even, though the Ducks having to replace defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi with Chris Hampton could cause a slight slip early on.
Regardless, Finebaum is adamant in his claim that Oregon should have been the No. 1 team in the AP poll, with their signal-caller giving them the edge over Ohio State and a slight edge over Notre Dame.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Paul Finebaum: Oregon Ducks 'ought to be' No. 1 team in AP poll
