EUGENE -- Oregon is expected to enter the 2014 college football season near the top of several top 25 polls, and one of the first to be released indeed pegs the Ducks at No. 2.

Sporting News released their preseason top 25 Tuesday morning and Oklahoma, five months after beating Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, is No. 1.

The Sooners are followed by the Ducks, whose placement at No. 2 suggests an expected path toward the inaugural College Football Playoff. However, reporter Matt Hayes reminds readers, Oregon's recent journeys toward national championships have always been blocked by some kind of obstacle. Can they avoid the pitfall this season?

It's always something that blocks an Oregon championship: an injury (Dennis Dixon), a missed tackle (Auburn), an upset (Stanford) and another injury (Marcus Mariota). At some point, the Ducks have to be on the other side of it. As long as Mariota stays healthy, no one will stop the offense. The Ducks will outscore everyone if they have to — or at least until the defense gets used to new personnel and coordinator Don Pellum.

The Ducks are one of six Pac-12 schools that includes Stanford at No. 6 and UCLA at No. 8. Read the whole top 25 here.

-- Andrew Greif | @andrewgreif