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Oregon Ducks land at No. 15 in final AP Poll of regular season

Jarrid Denneyby:Jarrid Denney•12/04/22•

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(Photo by Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Oregon Ducks held strong at No. 15 in the final AP Poll of the regular season but lost points.

After being forced to watch the Pac-12 title game from home on Friday, the Ducks did not gain or lose ground in Saturday’s updated AP Poll. They received 670 points, which was 31 fewer than last week.

Oregon (9-3, 7-2 Pac-12) is one of six Pac-12 schools that cracked the Top 25.

Utah moved up to No. 7 after boat racing USC in the Pac-12 title game, and the Trojans dropped to No. 8 as a result.

Washington (No. 12), Oregon State (No. 17), and UCLA (No. 18) also landed in the top 25.

The Ducks will not await the reveal of the final College Football Playoff rankings, which will be released on Sunday.

AP Top 25 Poll following championship weekend:

  1. Georgia Bulldogs
  2. Michigan Wolverines
  3. TCU Horned Frogs
  4. Ohio State Buckeyes
  5. Alabama Crimson Tide
  6. Tennessee Volunteers
  7. Utah Utes
  8. USC Trojans
  9. Penn State Nittany Lions
  10. Clemson Tigers
  11. Kansas State Wildcats
  12. Washington Huskies
  13. Florida State Seminoles
  14. Tulane Green Wave
  15. Oregon Ducks
  16. LSU Tigers
  17. Oregon State Beavers
  18. UCLA Bruins
  19. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
  20. South Carolina Gamecocks
  21. Texas Longhorns
  22. UTSA Roadrunners
  23. Troy Trojans
  24. Mississippi State Bulldogs
  25. NC State Wolfpack

Others receiving votes: North Carolina 39, UCF 36, Cincinnati 32, Ole Miss 27, Fresno State 25, Purdue 17, South Alabama 17, Illinois 11, Boise State 6, Pittsburgh 4, Minnesota 2, James Madison 1

Oregon edge rusher DJ Johnson accepts invite to Senior Bowl

During his final season as an Oregon Duck, DJ Johnson proved to be the program’s most effective edge rusher.

He will cap off his college career by playing in the Senior Bowl.

On Saturday, Johnson accepted an invitation to the year-end all-star game, which annually features some of the top NFL Draft prospects.

Johnson, a sixth-year senior from Sacramento, Calif., tallied 39 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and six sacks this season.

The No. 75 overall prospect in the class of 2017, Johnson originally enrolled at Miami out of high school and spent one year with the Hurricanes before transferring to Oregon in 2018.

After splitting time at edge rusher and tight end earlier in his career, he settled in as a dynamic pass-rusher under head coach Dan Lanning and defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi this season.

During spring ball, Lupoi said that one of his first acts in Eugene after accepting the Ducks’ DC position was ensuring that Johnson would operate as a full-time defensive player for the Ducks in 2022.

“Obviously, having to share duties and play both ways and stuff, there’s going to be some stuff that we got to improve with him,” Lupoi said. “I’ve been really impressed by how he’s attacked the process, especially the mental aspect of the defense and the concentration to go get better. This guy is on a mission to improve every day, that’s obvious to me.”

Johnson led the Ducks in sacks and was second in tackles for loss behind only Brandon Dorlus.

Following Oregon’s loss at Oregon State in the final game of the regular season, a video emerged of Johnson punching a fan as he was exiting the field. Earlier this week, a UO athletic department spokesperson said there was no word on whether Johnson would be punished for the incident.

In November, Oregon center Alex Forsyth also accepted an invite to the Senior Bowl. Last season, safety Verone McKinley III was the lone Duck to play in the Senior Bowl.

The Senior Bowl will be held on Feb. 4, 2023, in Mobile, Ala., and kickoff at 11:30 a.m. The game will air on NFL Network.

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