End of Season Report Card: Grading the Oregon Ducks' 2025 season

Fifteen games later, the Oregon Ducks 2025 season has come to a close. There were many twists and turns that occurred during the long season — but many things for the team to be proud of despite falling short of the ultimate goal of winning the program's first national title.

The Ducks finished with 13 wins and won two games in the College Football Playoff, ending their season as one of the final four teams in the country.

There were a number of players who impressed as the season progressed, helping the team while boosting their own draft stock along the way. A number of true freshman had prominent roles as well, leading the way for an exciting future of Ducks football in 2026 and beyond.

But with all that as a backdrop, it's time to go into evaluation mode. The national title was the goal heading into the season — so the ensuing report card featuring grades for each position group will be with that as the standard.

Quarterbacks

Grade:A-

Coming into the season, the jury was still out on Dante Moore . He'd struggled in five starts at UCLA in 2023 and was in the shadows during his first season as a Duck, attempting just eight passes as a sophomore. But he proved to be one of the top pure passers in the country right away against Montana State, with that sentiment continuing throughout much of the season. He has the full package — arm strength, accuracy, requisite athleticism, mindset and maturity — minus one key thing: experience. The lack of starts and overall inexperience at the college level plagued him in both losses to Indiana , as they clearly confused him in both pass coverage and in sending simulated pressures. That's what keeps him below an A here.

Running Backs

Grade:A

I was very tempted to give this unit an A+ considering that they may have been the best running back room in the country, but I can't ignore the no-show aside from Jay Harris and Dierre Hill Jr. in the Semifinal. Apart from that, the Ducks running backs, highlighted by Noah Whittington , Jordon Davison and Hill, were phenomenal in 2025. They complemented each other extremely well, with Whittington (829 yards) serving as the bell-cow, Davison (15 touchdowns) as arguably the best short-yardage back in the country and Hill (8.7 yards per carry and 8.6 yards per catch) as an explosive scat back with home run-hitting ability. I'd argue that this was the best position group on the team in 2025.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Grade:B+

Considering that both the tight end and wide receiver rooms were hit with injuries, the two units over-performed expectations this season. Malik Benson and Jeremiah McClellan , after arguably beginning the year as the No. 3 and 4 receivers, stepped in as a reliable targets for Moore in the wake of injuries to Dakorien Moore and Gary Bryant Jr. Plus, Kenyon Sadiq 's highs produced some all-time performances while his "lows" opened up opportunities for Jamari Johnson , who surged late in the season. There may not be a consistant No. 1 of this group, but altogether they made for one of the top pass-catching units in the nation.

Offensive Lineman

Grade:B+

Yes, this group was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award, given to the most outstanding offensive line unit in the nation. But when the downfall of the entire season was in part due to the offensive line crumbling against the best competition, I just can't give this unit an A. Iapani Laloulu and Emmanuel Pregnon were standouts all season up front, with the latter earning a first-team All-American nod. But Isaiah World and especially Alex Harkey struggled mightily against the Hoosiers in the Semifinal. And when a young, inexperienced quarterback like Moore feels pressure, the team's chances of winning diminish greatly.

Defensive Lineman

Grade:B

The talent is all here, with the interior of defensive tackles Bear Alexander and A'Mauri Washington and edge rushers Matayo Uiagalelei and Teitum Tuioti — plus talented reserves Tionne Gray , Terrance Green , Nasir Wyatt and Blake Purchase . But the production just wasn't there for much of the season, as the Ducks finished in the bottom half of all FBS teams in the regular season in terms of both sacks and tackles for loss. They turned it on in the CFP against Texas Tech, but Indiana had no problem running on them. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza , for the most part, had all day as he completed 17 of 20 passes. All four of the defensive line starters will be back in 2026 after being NFL draft prospects, but if they produce the same season that they did this year, it won't be good enough once again.

Linebackers

Grade:B

Aside from a handful of impressive Jerry Mixon performances, Bryce Boettcher was the star and carried this group for the most part. Boettcher was all around the ball in his final season with the Ducks, totaling 136 tackles and two forced fumbles, proving himself to be the team's most reliable tackler and one that has his best games in the biggest games. The Eugene native had double digit tackles against Penn State , Indiana (twice), USC, Washington and Texas Tech. Meanwhile, Mixon had 13 tackles against Iowa but averaged 3.1 tackles in every other game. Devon Jackson also failed to step up alongside Boettcher, averaging 3.2 tackles in 13 games. The linebacking unit doesn't look great for next season, leading to this unit being near the top of the list for additions in the transfer portal.

Secondary

Grade:A-

Having ranked as the nation's No. 1 pass defense for much of the regular season, it came as a bit of a disappointment for cracks to appear late in the season. It began with USC throwing for 330 yards and four touchdown while showing no fear in targeting true freshman standout cornerback Brandon Finney Jr. , who struggled with the ball in the air in committing multiple pass interference penalties. Each of James Madison and Indiana also had success through the air. But for the most part, this unit was excellent. Jadon Canady was a tremendous slot corner and safety Dillon Thieneman was phenomenal as a ball-hawk and near the line of scrimmage, as he aided Boettcher as a de-facto linebacker at times. The young talent in Na'eem Offord , Ify Obidegwu and Finney is strong here and they were aided by accomplished veterans in 2025.

Special Teams

Grade:A

With blocked punts, a Benson punt return for a touchdown, a James Ferguson-Reynolds fake punt converted for a first down and several games where kicker Atticus Sappington was arguably the most valuable player, the Ducks' special teams couldn't have done much better in 2025. Sappington did miss five kicks, marking down what would've been an A+ season for this unit. But all things considered, this was a tremendous campaign for Oregon's special teams unit.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Grading the Oregon Ducks' 2025 season, position by position