Joel Klatt ranks Oregon No. 4 in preseason top 25, first Big Ten season

Joel Klatt ranked the Oregon Ducks at No. 4 in his preseason top 25 rankings. They sit behind Ohio State (1), Georgia (2) and Texas (3) to create an all-Big Ten, SEC top four.

According to Klatt, if there was any young coach that he’d be buying stock in heading into the 2024 season, it would be Dan Lanning.

“You had an opportunity to leave for some of the biggest jobs — maybe the biggest job in all of college football and didn’t,” Klatt said. “Why? Because he’s got the resources and the culture to win at Oregon. I think Dan Lanning will win the national championship at Oregon. I don’t know if it’s going to be this year, but I’ll tell you what — this team is damn good.”

The Ducks are coming off a 12-win season under head coach Dan Lanning in 2023, and it appears as though Klatt expects a similar outcome for the Ducks this fall. It starts with their

“They are physical at the line of scrimmage. Of all the teams going into the Big Ten, all of these West Coast teams, Oregon is going to be the one that all the Big Ten teams are actually surprised with their physical nature. I really believe that. I understand they lost twice to Washington and they couldn’t get over the [Michael] Penix hurdle. I get that, I really do. But boy, this roster is fantastic.”

Klatt raved over the prospect of Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel‘s potential at Oregon in Will Stein’s offense. He believes Gabriel will be better for Oregon than he was for Oklahoma.

During his final season with the Sooners in 2023, he had arguably the best season of his career yet. He finished with 3,660 yards, 30 touchdowns, six interceptions, a 69.3 percent completion percentage, 373 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. Over the course of his career, Gabriel has 14,865 yards, 125 touchdowns, 26 interceptions, a 63.1 percent completion percentage, 1,060 rushing yards and 26 rushing touchdowns.

Since joining the Ducks’ squad this offseason, Gabriel has been tasked with learning a completely new offense under Lanning at Oregon. Gabriel called Lanning’s coaching style “innovative” and “refreshing.”

“What he’s going to be asked to do for Wolfenstein and Dan Lanning — that Oregon offense is right up his alley,” Klatt said.

Oregon kicks off its 2024 college football season against Idaho on Saturday, Aug. 31 before beginning Big Ten Conference play against UCLA on Sept. 28.