National Recruiting Analyst at Rivals Marshall Levenson is accompanied by DuckSportsAuthority. within Ryan Young, AggieYell. within Landyn Rosow It is DeathValleyInsider. within Jefferson Powell to address three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
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1. Oregon is the biggest threat to overtake Ohio State atop the 2025 team rankings.
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Young: FACT. The Ducks are currently fourth in the Rivals.com Team Recruiting Rankings and they are increasing every week. Combine a team led by the head coach Dan Lanning who has proven to be relentless in pursuing his top goals – the Ducks have already won some key recruiting battles they weren’t prepared to win a few months ago, like five-star running back Jordan Davison – and the kind of NIL support needed today to recruit with the best in the country, and that is the recipe needed to truly recruit at an elite level.
Since June 25, Oregon has landed commitments from five Rivals250 four-star prospects and two five-stars in Davison (No. 2 RB and No. 18 overall) and receiver Dakorien Moore (No. 1 WR, No. 4 overall). The Ducks are accumulating talent on the field and even after losing to LSU this week for five star athlete DJ Pickett they are far from done as they look for five-star security guards Jonas Williams It is Trey McNutt and four-star top-100 receiver michael terry. Whether or not Oregon gets the No. 1 seed this cycle, the Ducks have everyone’s attention and are definitely a huge threat at that spot.
Levenson: FACT. I thought about it for a moment and was very close to going into fiction and siding with Alabama as the biggest threat. But there was one fundamental aspect that let me go to Oregon. The Ducks are currently ranked fourth in the 2025 class, and looking at the top five, Oregon has the fewest commits by a pretty wide margin.
Ohio State (24), Alabama (22), Georgia (20), Oregon (16), and Notre Dame (21) offers an interesting look at what the future holds. Ohio State doesn’t have many additions left for the year. Alabama at 22 and Notre Dame at 21 are in the same boat. Georgia is in a decent position to grow further, but Oregon, at just 16, leaves plenty of room to grow. And looking at prospects like Williams, McNutt and Terry are just three possibilities. There are still such important prospects across the country that they could very well end up in Eugene. With so much room to grow and a number of elite prospects with real interest, they are poised to make big strides up the pecking order.
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2. LSU-Alabama will still be a heated rivalry in the post-Nick Saban era.
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Powell: FACT. Saying the LSU-Alabama rivalry won’t be the same without Nick Saban leading the Crimson Tide would be a huge understatement. But it’s hardly the end of this long series. We’re talking about a rivalry that dates back to Grover Cleveland’s time in the White House, a time when Theodore Roosevelt was president of the New York City Police Board, six years before becoming the 26th president of the United States. There is a lot of story in this series.
Some say that history tends to repeat itself. If that’s true, you could argue that the rivalry could become even more heated. The height of this rivalry occurred in the last 40 years, following the retirement of another Alabama legend in Bryant Bear in 1982. As Alabama says goodbye to another legend this season, the next chapters of this century-old rivalry have yet to be written. But the characters in these stories are not as important as the stories themselves.
This rivalry doesn’t need Bear Bryant or Nick Saban to be one of the fiercest rivalries in college football, it just needs the first Saturday in November.
Levenson: FACT. I think Powell described this situation perfectly. There has always been an added layer to the rivalry between the two SEC powerhouses, as Saban was once a national championship-winning coach in Baton Rouge before ending up at Alabama. However, this only added to the fire that was already burning. LSU has seen a rotation of quarterbacks over the last 20 years and you could argue that passion grows as LSU fans wait and hope for a new coach to get the best out of their biggest rival.
Now with Kalen De Boer ahead of the Tide, both fan bases are eager to see how this plays out. Alabama is trying to prove that DeBoer belongs in this role to take down the likes of LSU and other SEC foes. Meanwhile, LSU is trying to capitalize on what they call a potential Alabama slump with Nick Saban no longer at the helm.
I fully expect the 2024 version of the rivalry and beyond to be the normal level of madness and passion we’re used to.
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3. Texas A&M is the team to beat in the 2026 four-star ATH Dequane Prevo.
Rosow: FACT. Texas A&M apparently it has been the program that has received the most attention in recent weeks. It starts with the multiple visits he’s made to College Station and is complemented by the fact that he loves his relationship with the coach. (Holmon) Wiggins and believe in Mike Elko’It’s the vision for him. I believe the talented wide receiver will eventually commit to the Aggies.
Levenson: FACT. Dequane Prévo recently announced a commitment date of July 30th with top schools Texas A&M, USC, Arkansas, Penn StateIt is Baylor. Immediately after releasing the news, I went ahead and registered a FutureCast for Texas A&M to secure their commitment.
With an early commitment coming up, I felt the Aggies were the clear answer at this point. They are the program he has visited the most so far, since 2022. He was most recently on the College Station campus on June 20, where Prevo was able to spend time with head coach Mike Elko. With just two weeks until a decision, Prevo appears to be headed to Texas A&M as of now.
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Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Rivals.com, the leader in college football and basketball recruiting coverage. Be the first to know and follow your teams by signing up here.
