For the fourth straight year, Oregon is a preseason top 15 team.

The preseason AFCA Coaches Poll dropped on Monday and the Ducks checked in at No. 12 in the initial ranking, just ahead of NC State (13) and Michigan State (14). There was a pretty sizable gap between Oregon at 12 and Oklahoma State at No. 11 (125 total points) and then a similar gap between the cluster of teams at 12, 13, and 14 and the USC Trojans at No. 15.

On the heels of a 10-4 season that saw the Ducks play for third straight Pac-12 title, Oregon has undergone significant change within the program.

Mario Cristobal left to take over at Miami. In his place, former Georgia defensive coordinator and 2021 national champion Dan Lanning has taken over the progrum and worked to instill a championship standard.

No doubt, the Coaches Poll ranking likely won’t sit on Lanning’s radar for too long as he readies the Ducks for their opener against that same Georgia Bulldogs team he just won it all with, but it does serve as a reminder that even amidst turnover, Oregon remains at the upper echelon of the sport.

The Ducks are the second-highest-ranked Pac-12 team, behind Utah at No. 8. UCLA and Oregon State landed in the receiving votes category, with the Bruins garnering 10 and the Beavers two.

Oregon appears loaded on defense and it’ll look to break out on offense behind either Auburn transfer Bo Nix or rising second-year man Ty Thompson.

The season gets rolling on Sept. 3 in Atlanta against Georgia, which opens the season at No. 3 in the Coaches Poll. The rest of the top 25 can be found here.