What does Joel Klatt think the Oregon Ducks must do in order to consider the 2025 season a success?
College football analyst Joel Klatt discusses what Oregon Ducks fans should consider a successful season in 2025.
Under Dan Lanning’s leadership, Oregon made a statement in its inaugural Big Ten season: a perfect 12–0 regular season, a dominant Big Ten Championship win over Penn State, and a 13–1 record overall. The team has been a consistent power in college football and has won over 10 games every season under Lanning and his staff’s leadership.
The Ducks enter the 2025 season with more question marks than in the past few years. The team lost 18 starters from its 13-1 season and will be forced to break in a new quarterback as Dante Moore looks to replace Dillon Gabriel, who was drafted in the third round of the NFL Draft. Still, even with all that turnover, Oregon was ranked seventh in the Coach’s Preseason Poll, showing that many expect Oregon to be a top team in college football.
One analyst in particular sees Oregon as a threat to be even better than they were in 2024.
On his most recent episode of the Joel Klatt Show, Joel Klatt went through expectations for top football programs and what their respective fanbase would consider a “successful season”. He categorized the options into five categories:
- 9 Wins
- In CFP Mix
- College Football Playoff
- Final Four
- Championship Game
Joel Klatt believes that Oregon falls into the “Final Four” category and that the Ducks should, at worst, make the semi-final round in order for the 2025 season to be considered a success.
“They’re turning into this like perennial power in college football. What do perennial powers do? They go to the Final Four. So I think Oregon needs to take a step forward and not just go to a quarter final, which they just were in last year in the Rose Bowl against Ohio State, but they need to win a game in the playoff,” Klatt said.
While I appreciate Klatt’s respect for Lanning and the program, placing a final-four-or-bust expectation is a bit much. As mentioned, the Ducks will be replacing 18 starters and a new quarterback, and they already lost their best offensive playmaker in Evan Stewart, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the offseason. A more realistic expectation for a successful Ducks season is another playoff berth. Just get into the dance and let the cards fall after that.
The Ducks have the talent and schedule to put themselves in position for a playoff berth, and once a team gets into the dance, anything can happen. However, getting to the final four should not be the measuring stick after losing so many players to graduation or heading to the NFL.
Oregon and Lanning begin their quest to the College Football Playoff on Saturday, August 30, against Montana State.
