Nick Saban stuns College GameDay viewers with bold Oregon, Texas A&M take

The Oregon Ducks have opened the 2025 season ranked No. 6 and unbeaten at 3-0, looking every bit like a top-10 program. Still, questions remain about the strength of their early schedule.

That uncertainty became a talking point on ESPN’s College GameDay, where Desmond Howard and Nick Saban offered sharp opinions on the Ducks and their competition.

Howard, a former Heisman Trophy winner, pointed to quarterback Dante Moore as one of the key reasons for Oregon’s strong start.

“I will have to go with the Oregon Ducks. I think their quarterback, Dante Moore's playing a very high level right now completing 78 percent of his passes, seven touchdown passes, and only one interception,” Howard said. “He's spreading the ball around. He's playing very efficiently. Now I think their defense is one of the best defenses, too, in the conference.”

Moore’s efficiency has been clear through three games, posting a 197.3 quarterback rating while throwing his first interception against Northwestern.

More: Oregon’s Dante Moore compared to C.J. Stroud as NFL Draft buzz grows after 3-0 start

Looking ahead, Howard noted that the Ducks’ real challenge comes in week 5.

“Now, obviously they're gonna have to play Penn State next week. Penn State is gonna be coming off a bye, that's gonna be a big matchup. But shout out to Oregon, shout out the Phil Knight, they're gonna honor him today, too,” Howard added.

Saban impressed with Texas A&M

As GameDay highlighted Oregon’s “Shoe Duck” uniforms in honor of Nike co-founder Phil Knight, attention shifted to Saban, who surprised viewers by redirecting praise elsewhere.

“Well, you know, Oregon's done a great job of retooling. They lost a lot of players from last year, but, you know, the team that I'm really impressed with is Texas A&M,” Saban said.

Saban emphasized the performance of quarterback Marcel Reed, who led the Aggies to a road win at Notre Dame.

“Marcel Reed has done a fantastic job… to go in there and have the mental toughness to be able to sustain, come back in the game, and win the game. It speaks a lot about the character, competitive character of this team. And if Marcel Reed stays healthy, they're gonna be hard to beat,” Saban said.

The spotlight now shifts to week 5, where Oregon’s clash with Penn State may finally reveal if the Ducks are true contenders or simply untested pretenders.