Pete Thamel predicts Oregon as No. 2 seed in College Football Playoff

The College Football Playoff is getting set to expand for the 2024 season from four teams to 12 teams. With that expansion, plenty of teams are expecting to make some noise this season and make it to the CFP. That included the Oregon Ducks.

While going through and making predictions for the College Football Playoff on the College GameDay Podcast, Pete Thamel explained that he thinks it’s going to be Oregon, and not Ohio State, who wins the Big Ten and takes the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff in the process.

“I picked Oregon to win the Big Ten,” Pete Thamel said. “That is rooted, in part…I feel like where they are strongest is where I have questions about Ohio State. So, I certainly agree. I think Ohio State will have the most players invited to the combine this year. I feel like it’s going to be a Michigan-ish amount, like 18 last year. Six or seven guys on their roster at this time last year we just assumed were going pro. So, it’s a very rare confluence of talent…That said, the Ducks have a quarterback who is proven, proven, and proven, and they have a better offensive line.”

There are a couple of questions that Ohio State has, at the end of the day, which Thamel wants answered and Oregon already has figured out. That includes the offensive line and the quarterback position.

“I have some slight reservations about Ohio State’s offensive line just because of the way they’ve played. They haven’t been poor but they have not been dominant…They are, right now, a work in progress with some questions and in that league, week-to-week, I feel like I need to see it. Now, they do have the Michigan preseason schedule from the last couple of years where they have three tuneups to figure things out. They have Chip Kelly calling plays…The difference between Will Howard and Kyle McCord is that Will Howard can run that zone read. I feel like that was such a critical part of that offense that was taken away last year…They’ll run five QB-run type plays a game for him every year, which opens so much different things up,” Thamel said.

“So, I think Ohio State is going to be very good. I think they’re a Playoff team. I think they’ll beat Michigan. I don’t know with any certainty they’re going to go to Eugene and win early in the season. If it comes down to Ohio State and Oregon in Indianapolis, who knows?”

For his part, host Rece Davis agreed with Pete Thamel’s question marks about Ohio State. He also agreed that Dillon Gabriel is the better quarterback at Oregon. However, he still feels like the Buckeyes have the better overall roster and will win the Big Ten and earn the two-seed in the process.