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The Oregon Ducks and head coach Dan Lanning, after a disappointing end to the 2025 college football season, will be seeking revenge this year.

Since his arrival to the program, Lanning has done an outstanding job of building one of the best rosters in college football. However, despite possessing one of the most elite rosters, the program has failed to reach the National Championship, which continues to be at the forefront of Lanning's plans heading into this season.

When discussing Oregon's future outlook for the upcoming season, Lanning told On3 Sports' Wilson Alexander that "we're close" to a National Championship during the Big Ten media days.

“We’re close,” Lanning told On3 at the Big Ten media days. “I know Indiana’s an outlier and they’ve done an unbelievable job, but it takes time, man, to build something really special. I think of coaches in our era that have been able to have success and create success and win national championships. I don’t think Kirby Smart did it in his first four years. I don’t think Ryan Day did."

Can Oregon Win it All in 2026?

Over the past two college football seasons, the Ducks have been on the brink of winning a National Championship.

After an undefeated regular season in 2024, Lanning and his squad managed to win the Big 10 Conference Championship and land the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoffs. However, their plans were derailed by the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl, crushing the program's hopes for a perfect season.

In 2025, the Ducks were on a path to potentially repeating their recent success by making it to the semifinals of the College Football Playoffs. Still, Oregon was unable to reach the National Championship last season due to the incredible run by the Indiana Hoosiers and head coach Curt Cignetti. The fellow Big 10 Conference program defeated the Ducks in both the regular season at home and in the Peach Bowl before eventually winning the title over the Miami Hurricanes.

Along with claiming that the program is close to a National Championship, Lanning also told On3 Sports that "it takes time" to build a title contender.

“It takes time," Lanning said. "It’s hard. It’s hard to build. There’s, what, four active coaches that have won national championships? We’re close. We got to win the last one. We got to play better, and certainly there’s no excuses from us. We just got to continue to improve.”

Heading into the 2026 season, the time is now for Lanning and the Ducks to prove themselves as one of the best teams in all of college football. Led by veteran quarterback Dante Moore and defensive tackle A'Mauri Washington, Oregon's current roster is well-equipped to not only compete within the Big Ten Conference, but for a national title.

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