Oregon lands top-5 slot in Joel Klatt's early top 10 for 2024 season
Oregon is heating up for the 2024 season, and the future remains bright for the Ducks. A major piece to the puzzle is Dan Lanning reaffirming his commitment to the program as rumors swirled surrounding Alabama.
In fact, Joel Klatt had Oregon at No. 3 in his early top-10 list for the 2024 season. A lot of that ranking has to do with Lanning and his work with the Ducks.
According to Klatt, the recent matchups in the national championship prove it’s possible for Lanning to win a title at Oregon:
“Man, Oregon folks. Heading into Year 3 with Lanning. He stays and sends that epic tweet out… I love that he’s staying in Eugene because I believe Oregon, moving into the Big Ten, the new era of college football, after what we just saw in the last 3 of 4 national finalists be TCU, Michigan and Washington. You can do it at Oregon,” said Klatt. “You don’t have to go to the SEC. Dan Lanning didn’t have to go to Alabama to win at the top end.”
As for the 2024 Ducks, Klatt likes the number of underclassmen who opted to return to the program for another season. He sees depth along the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball as a key for Oregon.
Meanwhile, the biggest piece the Ducks needed to replace has been replaced by a veteran star in the transfer portal:
“They do have to replace Bo Nix, and they replace him with a guy who I actually think is perfectly suited for what they do offensively, Dillon Gabriel,” Klatt explained.
The last aspect Klatt touched on is the schedule for Oregon. While the level of competition in the new Big Ten is fierce, the Ducks get a manageable slate in 2024, all things considered.
“Relatively speaking, for as difficult as a schedule could be in the new Big Ten, it’s manageable,” Klatt said. “They get Ohio State and Washington but both of those teams are in Eugene. They do have to go to the Big House and play Michigan, but at least it’s a year when Michigan is at least on paper not primed to make a run to the national championship.”