College Football Playoff: 5 Dark horse contenders for 2021

5 Dark horse contenders for 2021 College Football Playoff

Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell and quarterback Desmond Ridder (9) lead the Bearcats onto the field before the first quarter of the NCAA American Athletic Conference football game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the East Carolina Pirates at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Friday, Nov. 13, 2020. The Bearcats led 35-10 at halftime.East Carolina Pirates At Cincinnati Bearcats /

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Oregon

Most of the teams on this list have a settled quarterback situation and a player that you could label a standout at the game’s most important position.

Oregon isn’t one of those teams though. The Ducks have Anthony Brown returning and he played quite a bit down the stretch last season. Tyler Shough, who was the starter most of last year, transferred to Texas Tech and the Ducks have a big-time talent coming in with five-star QB recruit Ty Thompson.

While Oregon doesn’t necessarily have the quarterback position figured out heading into the season, the Ducks are loaded with talent and definitely fit the mold of a College Football Playoff team according to the blue-chip ratio.

Heading into the season, 56 percent of the roster has been built with “blue chips” or four and five-star recruits. If the Ducks can get some solid quarterback play or if Thompson breaks into the starting lineup and excels, Oregon has enough to win the Pac-12 and make the playoff.

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