College football rosters don’t just differ by talent anymore - they differ by age, and Oregon’s place in that picture is a little more middle of the pack than some fans might expect.
RotoWire’s Thomas Leary dug through age and eligibility information from On3, ESPN, CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports and official team rosters to rank all 138 FBS teams from oldest to youngest. The broad takeaway was that the sport’s youngest teams often sit near the top, while older rosters can be more vulnerable when injuries or limited snaps slow a player’s momentum.
Oregon landed in a three-way tie for No. 93 with Missouri State and UNLV, checking in with an average age of 20.18. That puts the Ducks right in the middle of the Big Ten’s age range, not among the youngest, but not near the oldest either.
The conference numbers are interesting on their own. USC is the youngest Big Ten team at 19.87, followed by Ohio State at 19.95 and Washington at 20.04.
On the other end, Michigan State sits as the conference’s oldest roster at 20.64. And the broader Big Ten trend Leary pointed to is hard to miss: teams that performed well in 2025, including Indiana, Ohio State, USC, Illinois and Iowa, were all on the younger side.
That matters when looking ahead to Oregon’s 2026 schedule, which includes a slate of opponents with a wide spread of average ages. The Ducks’ toughest age matchup comes against Oklahoma State, which checks in at 20.74.
Michigan State follows at 20.64, then UCLA at 20.52, Nebraska at 20.51 and Northwestern at 20.48. Boise State sits at 20.34, Michigan at 20.24, Illinois at 20.17 and Washington at 20.04.
Ohio State is at 19.95, while USC is the youngest opponent on the list at 19.87. Portland State’s age was unavailable as an FCS program.
For Oregon, the age conversation starts with junior quarterback Dante Moore, whose 2026 buzz includes a projection as a first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. His path at Oregon has been about growth, with Moore spending the 2024 season behind Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel to develop.
The Ducks also have senior center Iapani "Poncho" Laloulu, who has spent his whole college career in Eugene and used that experience to handle the churn along the offensive line. On the defensive front, returners A'Mauri Washington and Bear Alexander are expected to anchor one of the nation’s top units because of the experience they bring back.
Age can matter more at positions with higher injury risk, like running back and wide receiver. But at other spots, Oregon’s mix of talent and experience may matter more than how young the roster looks on paper.
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Dylan Raiolas Value Is Being Debated Again After Leaving Nebraska
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Dan Lanning has already pointed to Raiolas growth and intelligence as reasons Oregon believes there is more here than just another transfer addition. Raiola also sounds comfortable with the idea that his next step is about learning and preparing rather than grabbing the spotlight right away, which fits a roster that has Dante Moore back in the fold. The bigger question for Oregon is how quickly Raiola can turn that promise into something more tangible, because the Ducks did not bring him in just to be a name on the depth chart. [Read more 🡒]