As part of our preseason coverage, we ranked the running backs on the Oregon Ducks' 2025 schedule from worst to best.
For the Oregon Ducks, the 2025 college football season will be one of great interest. After a 2024 season in which Dan Lanning's team won the Big Ten Conference in its first year as a league member, expectations were set high. Now, with an almost entirely new-look roster that returns just four starters, there are a lot of questions to be answered.
We have just a few weeks until those questions will start to be answered. As we continue our preview coverage of the upcoming season, we want to begin examining the Ducks' schedule and some of the players, teams, and coaches they will face over the coming months.
In the Big Ten Conference, you get a pretty mixed bag when it comes to the running back position. Some schools boast a ground-and-pound scheme with bell-cow backs to will tote the rock 20-plus times a game. Other schools choose to air it out more and lean less heavily on the rushing attack. This created some disparity when looking at the opposing running backs on Oregon's schedule.
As we begin our preparations for the season, we're going through the best and worst position groups and units that the Ducks will face in 2025. With that being said, let's break down each projected starting running back that Oregon will face this season, ranked from last to first.
13. Rodney Fields Jr. — Oklahoma State Cowboys
2024 Stats: 21 rushes, 99 yards, 1 TD
Career Stats: 21 rushes, 99 yards, 1 TD
Analysis: Fields comes in as a redshirt freshman, looking to fill the shoes of Ollie Gordon at Oklahoma State. He played in four games during the 2024 season and was promising, at the very least, but it's tough to project a high floor without seeing much from the underclassman just yet.
12. Darrion Dupree — Wisconsin Badgers
2024 Stats: 79 rushes, 317 yards, 1 TD
Career Stats: 79 rushes, 317 yards, 1 TD
Analysis: With Tawee Walker now gone from Wisconsin, it will be between Darrion Dupree and Cade Yacamelli for the RB1 spot, and I'm going to give the nod to the sophomore who handled RB2 duties a year ago. There's a chance that Dupree could have a breakout with the RB1 duties on his shoulders, but I want to see more before I rank him any higher.
11. Kamari Moulton — Iowa Hawkeyes
2024 Stats: 84 rushes, 473 yards, 3 TDs
Career Stats: 111 rushes, 556 yards, 5 TDs
Analysis: Asking anyone to fill the shoes of someone like Kaleb Johnson is going to be a tall task, and that's what the Hawkeyes will do with Kamari Moulton this season. He played well in a backup role last year for Iowa, but with Johnson getting a majority of the touches, we still need to learn a lot about what Moulton can do as the bell-cow.
10. Adam Jones — Montana State Bobcats
2024 Stats: 184 rushes, 1,152 yards, 14 TDs
Career Stats: 187 rushes, 1,204 yards, 15 TDs
Analysis: While Adam Jones plays at the FCS level, he has proven to be a dynamic rusher for Montana State and put up impressive stats a year ago with the Bobcats. It remains to be seen what he can do against FBS competition like the Ducks, but he is at least someone that Oregon's defense needs to be aware of.
9. CJ Campbell Jr. — Rutgers Scarlet Knights
2024 Stats: 165 rushes, 844 yards, 11 TDs
Career Stats: 190 rushes, 1,025 yards, 14 TDs
Analysis: Rutgers will ask FAU transfer CJ Campbell Jr. to come in and replace Kyle Monangai, which is no easy task, but Campbell was a solid rusher for the Owls last year, with almost 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns. In a solid offense with Aithan Kaliakmanis running things, Campbell should be able to find some solid success.
8. Eli Sanders — USC Trojans
2024 Stats: 147 rushes, 1,063 yards, 9 TDs
Career Stats: 305 rushes, 1,766 yards, 13 TDs
Analysis: USC saw both Woody Marks and Quinten Joyner leave the program this last offseason, so they will bring in former New Mexico running back Eli Sanders, who had solid success, though at a lower level of football. Still, Lincoln Riley has proven himself to be a great offensive coach, so it would be no surprise to see Sanders produce at a high level.
7. Cam Porter — Northwestern Wildcats
2024 Stats: 126 rushes, 501 yards, 6 TDs
Career Stats: 460 rushes, 1,771 yards, 17 TDs
Analysis: Cam Porter returns as the leading rusher for Northwestern, going into his fifth season with the Wildcats. He may not be the most explosive back, but he is consistent, and should be a driving force for a relatively mundane Northwestern offense.
6. Darius Taylor — Minnesota Golden Gophers
2024 Stats: 205 rushes, 986 yards, 10 TDs
Career Stats: 343 rushes, 1,785 yards, 15 TDs
Analysis: Darius Taylor was one of the better backs in the conference a year ago, and he returns this season for a third year looking to establish himself among the top group. The offense at Minnesota will look a bit different with Drake Lindsey under center, but Taylor should be a consistent force in that offense.
5. Anthony Hankerson — Oregon State Beavers
2024 Stats: 232 rushes, 1,082 yards, 15 TDs
Career Stats: 387 rushes, 1,675 yards, 19 TDs
Analysis: Anthony Hankerson had a career year in 2024 for the Beavers, rushing for over 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns, and things should be no different this year. The Oregon State offense may be a fun one to watch, with Maalik Murphy now under center as well.
4. Roman Hemby — Indiana Hoosiers
2024 Stats: 134 rushes, 607 yards, 6 TDs
Career Stats: 481 rushes, 2,347 yards, 22 TDs
Analysis: After transferring over from Maryland, Roman Hemby projects to take over the starting role in the backfield for Indiana. There should be some confidence that he can succeed, based on Curt Cignetti's track record with offensive transfers.
3. Jonah Coleman — Washington Huskies
2024 Stats: 193 rushes, 1,053 yards, 10 TDs
Career Stats: 396 rushes, 2,296 yards, 19 TDs
Analysis: Jonah Coleman came over from Arizona and took over as the clear RB1 in Washington last season, and now he enters the 2025 season as one of the best rushers in the nation. With a second year of Jedd Fisch in Seattle, the Huskies' offense could surprise a lot of people, especially if QB Demond Williams can grow into his own under center.
2. Kaytron Allen — Penn State Nittany Lions
2024 Stats: 220 rushes, 1,108 yards, 8 TDs
Career Stats: 599 rushes, 2,827 yards, 24 TDs
Analysis: You may have wondered why there were 13 ranked running backs on this list when Oregon only plays 12 teams in the regular season. Well, it's because Penn State virtually has two starters, both of whom are arguably the top two RBs in the nation. Kaytron Allen has split the load with Nicholas Singleton over the years, but could easily be an unstoppable bell-cow back if given the opportunity. His return to Penn State for this year was one of the storylines of the offseason.
1. Nicholas Singleton — Penn State Nittany Lions
2024 Stats: 172 rushes, 1,099 yards, 12 TDs
Career Stats: 499 rushes, 2,912 yards, 32 TDs
Analysis: Alongside Kaytron Allen is Nicholas Singleton, who is arguably the best RB in the nation going into the 2025 season. He has had a remarkable career at Penn State already, with 32 career touchdowns, and he is back for more in 2025 with Allen, creating the undisputed top RB duo in the nation. Oregon facing these two in Week 5 will undoubtedly present the biggest test of the season.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Ranking rushers Oregon Ducks football will face in 2025 season
Category: General Sports
