Oregon Ducks rank at No. 2 team in Big Ten, per USA TODAY

With the spring college football season now in the rearview mirror, it is time to prepare for the second long haul of the offseason before September brings the start of the regular season. Before we prepare to turn away from football for the next couple of months, though, it's time for everyone to take account of what we saw over the last month and use it to further predict what we will see this year.

For many, that comes in the form of preseason rankings. Many different iterations have come out over the past week, the most recent of which is a look at the Big Ten in particular, from USA TODAY.

According to USAT, the Oregon Ducks are not at the top of the conference, but they are near the No. 1 spot, sitting at No. 2 behind the Ohio State Buckeyes. Here's a look at USA TODAY's full rankings:

1. Ohio State Buckeyes
2. Oregon Ducks
3. Indiana Hoosiers
4. USC Trojans
5. Michigan Wolverines
6. Penn State Nittany Lions
7. Iowa Hawkeyes
8. Washington Huskies
9. Minnesota Golden Gophers
10. Illinois Fighting Illini
11. UCLA Bruins
12. Nebraska Cornhuskers
13. Maryland Terrapins
14. Wisconsin Badgers
15. Northwestern Wildcats
16. Michigan State Spartans
17. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
18. Purdue Boilermakers

Of course, ranking anywhere in the top three of the conference will put you in great company, with both Ohio State and Indiana winning the last two national championships. Going into the year, all three teams are expected to be among the top five or six teams in the nation, and likely to make it back to the College Football Playoff when all is said and done.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: USA TODAY ranks Oregon Ducks behind one Big Ten team going into 2026