ESPN experts split on how far Oregon goes in 2026 CFP

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The Oregon Ducks have become a popular preseason pick to make quite a bit of noise in 2026. As we enter the final few days before the college football season gets underway at long last, experts and analysts are starting to put their predictions down on paper and make their calls for what is set to come.

It hasn't been too surprising to see Dan Lanning's team featured heavily in these projections.

While the Ducks making it back to the College Football Playoff is a common notion, and potentially going on to bring home the program's first national championship, it's understandable to see some consternation about how far Oregon will go this season.

There's no disagreement that the Ducks have been one of the better teams in the nation over the past few years, but their lopsided exits from the CFP in both 2024 and 2025 leave a lot to be desired. This alone has been enough for some to pull the rip cord early when projecting what lies ahead for Oregon in 2026, while others forge past with conviction and faith.

At ESPN, a couple of trusted experts, Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach, make their predictions for all 46 postseason games ahead of Week 0, and they update those projections throughout the year. On Saturday, they released their first set of outlooks, but they have some differing views on what is to come for the Ducks.

Bonagura has Oregon landing in the CFP as a No. 6 overall seed, hosting the No. 11 BYU Cougars in the first round. He projects the Ducks will win that game at Autzen and move on to face the No. 3 Texas Longhorns in the quarterfinals, where they see their season come to an end.

Schlabach, on the other hand, is much higher on the Ducks. He has Oregon earning a first-round bye as the No. 4 seed, and then meeting the No. 5 seed Longhorns in the Quarterfinals. Unlike Bonagura, Schlabach has Oregon beating Texas, and going on to see the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes — for potentially the third time of the year — in the semifinals.

This is where Schlabach sees the road ending for Oregon, though, as he predicts the Buckeyes to beat the Ducks, and go on to play the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the National Championship Game.

Either way, both ESPN experts predict that Oregon will once again make it into the postseason, and win at least a game or two once they get there. However, neither expects this to be the year that the Ducks get it done at long last, and bring that trophy home to Eugene.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: ESPN experts split on how far Oregon goes in 2026 CFP

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