In 2024, Oregon survived a stressful, narrow early win over Boise State before going undefeated in the regular season and winning the Big Ten while the Broncos also reached the College Football Playoff.
Does Week 1's 34-27 win for the Ducks mean a similar trajectory? We'll see. Ducks QB Dante Moore threw for 378 yards while receiver Dakorien Moore had the game-winning TD.
Among those teams looking to get back to the CFP, Oregon had the toughest ordeal. Ohio State, Georgia, Indiana and Miami, all playoff teams in 2025, won by a combined score of 216-28.
Texas and Notre Dame, both outside the top 12 last season, also started strong. Arch Manning threw for 305 yards and four touchdowns in the Longhorns' 59-7 win over Texas State.
Here are our experts' top 12 College Football Playoff picks:
Andrea Adelson: 1. Notre Dame, 2. Ohio State, 3. LSU, 4. Miami, 5. Georgia, 6. Indiana, 7. Texas, 8. Alabama, 9. Oregon, 10. USC, 11. BYU, 12. Boise State
Kyle Bonagura: 1. Ohio State, 2. Notre Dame, 3. Texas, 4. Indiana, 5. Georgia, 6. LSU, 7. Miami, 8. Texas Tech, 9. Alabama, 10. Oregon, 11. BYU, 12. Boise State
Bill Connelly: 1. LSU, 2. Notre Dame, 3. Ohio State, 4. Oregon, 5. Georgia, 6. Miami, 7. Texas, 8. Ole Miss, 9. Indiana, 10. Texas Tech, 11. Pittsburgh, 12. UMass
David Hale: 1. Notre Dame, 2. LSU, 3. Ohio State, 4. Texas, 5. Miami, 6. Georgia, 7. Indiana, 8. Texas A&M, 9. Ole Miss, 10. Oregon, 11. BYU, 12. Boise State
Eli Lederman: 1. Ohio State, 2. Notre Dame, 3. Miami, 4. Georgia, 5. Oregon, 6. Texas, 7. Texas Tech, 8. Indiana, 9. LSU, 10. BYU, 11. Ole Miss, 12. Boise State
Max Olson: 1. Ohio State, 2. Miami, 3. LSU, 4. Notre Dame, 5. Texas, 6. Oregon, 7. Georgia, 8. Indiana, 9. Texas Tech, 10. Oklahoma, 11. USC, 12. Boise State
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Ohio State, 2. Notre Dame, 3. Miami, 4. Georgia, 5. Texas, 6. Oregon, 7. Indiana, 8. BYU, 9. LSU, 10. Alabama, 11. USC, 12. Boise State
Mark Schlabach: 1. Ohio State, 2. Georgia, 3. Notre Dame, 4. Texas, 5. Oregon, 6. Indiana, 7. Miami, 8. LSU, 9. BYU, 10. Texas Tech, 11. Oklahoma, 12. North Dakota State
Jake Trotter: 1. Texas, 2. Notre Dame, 3. Ohio State, 4. Georgia, 5. Miami, 6. Indiana, 7. Oregon, 8. LSU, 9. Oklahoma, 10. BYU, 11. Alabama, 12. Boise State
Paolo Uggetti: 1. Ohio State, 2. Georgia, 3. Texas, 4. Oregon, 5. Notre Dame, 6. Miami, 7. Indiana, 8. LSU, 9. BYU, 10. USC, 11. Alabama, 12. Boise State
Dave Wilson: 1. Ohio State, 2. Notre Dame, 3. Miami, 4. Georgia, 5. Texas, 6. Oregon, 7. Indiana, 8. Texas Tech, 9. LSU, 10. Texas A&M, 11. USC, 12. Boise State