Oregon’s rise to the top of EA Sports College Football 27 comes with a little extra shine for Bear Alexander.
The Ducks sit alone at No. 1 in the game with a 91 overall, and Alexander is one of the standout names on the roster. The defensive lineman checks in at 90 overall, making him the eighth-highest rated Oregon player in the game. But the number that really jumps off the page is his awareness rating: 94, the best in the country among defensive tackles.
That puts Alexander in a unique spot in the game’s attribute rankings. While Oklahoma’s David Stone owns the highest overall rating among defensive tackles at 94, Alexander leads the group in awareness. Notre Dame’s Elijah Golden tops speed at 85, Indiana’s Cam McHaney leads acceleration at 91, and Florida State’s Franklin Whitley is the agility leader at 83.
For Alexander, the rating is another sign of how far his college career has come. He arrived at Georgia as part of the Bulldogs’ 2022 recruiting class, coming in as a four-star prospect and trying to carve out snaps on a defense packed with future pros. Even so, he managed to appear in 12 games during Georgia’s national title season, finishing with nine total tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, and two passes defended before entering the transfer portal.
His next stop was USC, where he put together a much bigger season in 2023 as a sophomore. He posted 48 total tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and four passes defended.
Alexander returned to USC for 2024, but his stint ended early after three games. He chose to leave the team and redshirt, sending him back into the transfer portal and eventually to Oregon.
That move paid off in 2025. As a redshirt junior for the Ducks, Alexander delivered 50 total tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one pass defended, and two fumble recoveries. He was also named Second-team All-Big Ten.
Now heading into his redshirt senior season in 2026, Alexander is back in Eugene with a chance to anchor a defense that brings back plenty of key pieces from last year. Oregon’s returning group includes defensive lineman Matayo Uiagalelei, outside linebacker Teitum Tuioti, and defensive back Brandon Finney Jr.
The Ducks’ standing in the title picture matches the buzz around the roster. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Oregon is tied with Indiana for the fourth-best odds to win the national championship at +800. Indiana is the defending national champion and beat Oregon in the College Football Playoff semifinal on the way to the title.
In Other News...
Oregon Just Got An Early Recruiting Signal At A Crucial Position
Oregon got an encouraging early read on one of the class of 2028s more coveted pass rushers when George Parkinson IV trimmed his list to six schools, putting the Ducks alongside Tennessee, LSU, Penn State, Ohio State and Texas A&M. The four-star EDGE from Pennsylvania is already drawing national attention, and Oregons presence in that group matters because the Ducks are clearly looking ahead at a position that will need fresh talent before long.
The interest is easy to understand from Oregons side. The Ducks are projecting real turnover at EDGE after 2026, with Teitum Tuioti and Matayo Uiagalelei both expected to move on, and the portal could create even more uncertainty on top of that. Parkinson IV has not set a commitment date, so this one figures to stay on the radar for a while, but getting into the final six this early is a useful signal for a program trying to stay ahead of the curve. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Just Pulled A Proven Bat From A Team Ducks Fans Love Beating
USCs roster turnover keeps rolling after the 2026 season, and the latest hit comes from a familiar place for Oregon fans. Infielder Adrian Lopez is out after a productive year in Los Angeles, joining a Trojans exodus that has already been fueled by both the MLB Draft and the transfer portal. For a Ducks program that has spent plenty of time trying to stay ahead of USC in the Big Ten, it is the kind of addition that immediately stands out.
Lopez brings the sort of bat Oregon has been looking to add, coming off a season in which he was one of USCs more reliable run producers and also gave the Trojans a lift in the postseason. The move also lands against the backdrop of a USC roster that has thinned dramatically since the season ended, with the portal and the draft taking a heavy toll as July 11 approached. For Oregon, the appeal is obvious, even if the full impact of the move will have to wait until the next round of roster movement settles in. [Read more 🡒]