Oregon Football Preview 2026: Is This Finally the Ducks' Time?

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

How has Oregon not won a national championship already under Dan Lanning?

The Ducks are a fantastic 48-8 in the four seasons on Lanning's watch. Over those four years, Ohio State is 48-8, too, and it has a national championship.

Michigan is 45-10, Indiana is 34-19, and they won national titles.

To win it all now, the road somehow leads through Oregon, and why? Try this …

The last Oregon loss to a team that didn't play in or win that season's College Football Playoff National Championship was to Oregon State on November 26, 2022 (and that year opened with a loss to eventual national champion Georgia).

Is Oregon Finally Able to Win it All?

The five Oregon losses over the last three years came to Indiana last season (twice), Ohio State the year before, and to Washington (twice) the year before that.

The problem, though, isn't that the Ducks keep coming oh-so-close, it's that they get close, and then get absolutely doornailed.

Unbeaten Big Ten Champion Oregon didn't get off the bus against the Buckeyes in the 41-21 Rose Bowl loss, and last season, the 56-22 loss to Indiana in the CFP Semifinal was over moments after the National Anthem.

Lanning's 2023 Bo Nix team should've won the Pac-12 Championship and made the College Football Playoff – it was better than Kalen DeBoer's Washington team, even though it lost twice.

In each of those three defeats, the narrative was simple – they were teachable moments, and things would be different the next time around.

Nope.

If 2026 Oregon isn't the best team in college football, it's in the top five.

Go ahead, read through the rest of this preview, and you'll get gushing analysis and lots of words about how great this bunch is.

But can we trust this team when it really matters? Oregon has to earn that.

– 2026 Oregon Schedule Analysis

Oregon Quick Hits

• Head Coach: Dan Lanning (5th year: 48-8)
• Best Case / Worst Case: Win the national championship/Lose (again) to the team that wins the national championship
• Key Player: Fox Crader, OT Soph.
• 2025 Record: 13-2
• Biggest Question: Can this year's team be the one that finally has the minerals to win the national title?

Oregon Key 2025 Stats

• First Quarter Scoring: Oregon 128, Opponents 44
• Total Offense: Oregon 6,783 yards, Opponents 4,105
• Touchdowns Scored: Oregon 71, Opponents 33

Offense

Offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer has one job – make sure this thing works against the great teams.

It's too talented for just about everyone on the schedule, but cranking out 500 yards on Oklahoma State isn't the point.

It has a sneaky-nasty Big Ten schedule from start to finish, and the offense has to be too good to stop every time out.

What’s Working

The quarterback room. Dante Moore should be a New York Jet right now. It wasn't a sure thing that he would've gone No. 2 in the NFL Draft after Fernando Mendoza, but in a quarterback-dead draft after the IU star, he would've gone early.

Moore completed 72% of his passes for 3,565 yards and 30 touchdowns, but he threw ten picks, was pantsed by Indiana in the CFP loss, and now he's back with something to prove.

Nebraska transfer Dylan Raiola threw for over 4,800 yards with 31 touchdowns and 17 picks in his two seasons with the Huskers. Now he's the best backup quarterback in college football. 

The receiving corps is scary good. The passing game relied on current New York Jet tight end Kenyon Sadiq a bit too much, but that's fine. The wide receivers made big plays.

Dakorien Moore and Jeremiah McClellan combined for 72 catches and six scores, averaging 14.7 yards per grab. 

Coming in is Iverson Hooks, a fifth-year senior from UAB who caught 72 passes last year with seven scores.

Accuracy. This is where Raiola comes into play, too.

Oregon not only cranked up the deep shots, but it was also fourth in the nation completing 72% of its passes – and that was almost all Moore. 

The interceptions from both top quarterbacks have to be minimized, but he hit 72% of his throws last year with the Huskers.

What Needs Work

The offense needs to be more effective against the elite. There's too much talent and depth in the Oregon starting 11 to be slowed down.

The guys on the other side of the ball are on scholarship, too, but for Oregon to take that extra step, the offense can never slow down.

The running game failed to hit 100 yards three times last year. Once was against Texas Tech, and the other two times were in the losses to Indiana.

The ground game was fine against Iowa, but Moore and the passing game had an uncomfortable day.

The running backs have to keep hitting the big runs. The offense shouldn't have melted down like it did in the CFP loss to Indiana just because there was an injury problem at running back.

Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill combined for 20 touchdown runs and over 1,300 yards – Davison in the power, Hill the speed. Colorado transfer Simeon Price is another good back to work into the mix.

The offensive line needs to come together fast. The Ducks lost guard Emmanuel Pregnon (Jacksonville Jaguars) and tackle Alex Harkey (Los Angeles Chargers) to the NFL.

It's not a thin group, but it'll take some shifting around. Yale transfer Michael Bennett III must be a factor at one of the tackle gigs.

Player to Watch

Jamari Johnson, TE Jr.
He's not Kenyon Sadiq, but Johnson is also a possible future first round pick.

The 6-5, 257-pound veteran started out at Louisville, but came over to Oregon last year as a top transfer.

He showed good deep-play ability, averaging close to 16 yards per catch on his 32 grabs for 510 yards and three scores.

Defense

Dan Lanning became a star as Georgia's defensive coordinator – he knows that side of the ball. So does veteran DC Chris Hampton, who has a ridiculously loaded group to work with.

The Ducks were seventh in the nation in total defense, allowing 274 yards per game, and 12th in scoring D giving up just under 18 per outing.

This year's defense will be even better.

What’s Working

The defensive front is all back full. It's an NFL front four around Bear Alexander and A'Mauri Washington on the inside, and Matayo Uiagalelei and Teitum Tuioti on the outside.

Tuioti led the team with 9.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss, and Uiagalelei made six sacks with 9.5 tackles for loss. 

If they stay healthy, both tackles are mortal locks to be All-Big Ten selections and good draft picks.

The Duck safeties are among the best in the country. That's because Oregon replaced one safety star with another.

Dillon Thieneman was brought in from Purdue, and he became a first round pick by the Chicago Bears after a 96-tackle season with five broken up passes. Minnesota's Koi Perich is next.

Quick enough to be an elite kick and punt returner, he made 128 tackles with six picks in his two years with the Gophers. He'll match well with terrific veteran Aaron Flowers, who's coming off a 70-tackle season.

The pass defense doesn't allow quarterbacks to do much. Fernando Mendoza was great against the Ducks. No other FBS passing game got to 60%.

Oregon is 28-0 over the last three seasons when quarterbacks don't get past the 60% mark.

What Needs Work

Can the pass rush do even more? Tuioti is amazing, and Uiagalelei can get behind the line, but Oregon was just okay with the pass rush.

It averaged two sacks per game and was 97th in tackles for loss, averaging fewer than five per game.

When this group cranked up three or more sacks, forget it – Oregon held teams to 14 points or fewer five times when doing that.

The linebacking depth isn't exactly thin; it doesn't have any real experience. Gavin Nix made just three tackles last year, Dylan Williams seven, and Bryden Platt two. 

There's no real worry – the staff didn't go after linebackers in the portal for a reason.

Be nastier on fourth downs. It was one of the strange issues with last year's great defense – it couldn't seem to come up with a fourth down stop.

It allowed teams to convert 64% of the time, mostly against teams desperate to keep up.

The Ducks stuffed Texas Tech on all three attempts, but almost no one else had a huge problem converting.

Player to Watch

A'Mauri Washington, DT Sr.
The 6-3, 330-pound Washington might not crank up the stats like the ends, but he's the real star up front with the potential to be the first tackle off the board in April.

He came into his own last year with 33 tackles and 1.5 sacks, and he was a tree to throw over, knocking down eight passes.

Keys to the Season

• Start hot on offense, stay hot, and don't stop.
• The starting defensive 11 has to stay healthy early until the depth develops.
• Dante Moore needs to play like the possible No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.

Player Who Needs To Shine

Fox Crader, OT Soph.
No pressure, just keep the guy who'll make about a quarter billion dollars from getting hit. 

The 6-6, 315-pound Crader will likely take over the left tackle job with the loss of Isaiah World. The Canadian was a great recruit a few years ago, and he got in a little work, including a start against USC.

If he's not great, there will be some panic shuffling up front.

Biggest Concern

Maintaining a dominant focus for a full season.
From the opening kickoff against Boise State, to the final gun of the regular season against Washington, and through whatever comes after that, one word has to be on this team's mind at all times …

Dominate.

Oregon outscored teams 456 to 152 over three quarters, but was outscored 109 to 85 in the fourth. It's a mindset – there is no letting up. Ever.

The Ducks were up 41-13 in the third against James Madison, and had to put the starters back on the field in a 51-34 final.

The next week, they held Big 12 Champion Texas Tech to 215 yards in a 23-0 stomping that wasn't even that close. 

That's the Oregon that needs to show up each week for a full 60 minutes.

Biggest Game

at Ohio State, November 7
Ohio State has a brutal schedule, and there's a chance the pressure and focus will be ramped up ten levels by the time early November rolls around.

There's also a chance that if Oregon wins at USC and at Illinois, it'll be the No. 1 team in the nation when it rolls into Columbus.

Transfer Portal

It's the nice part about recruiting as well as Oregon has over the last several years – there's no need to go heavy into the portal.

It was a high-end shopping trip for the Ducks with several elite signings, but there were a few huge losses.

The defensive front took a talent hit, and there wasn't enough done for the offensive line, but that's nitpicking.

Best Signing

Dylan Raiola, QB (Nebraska)
If all goes according to plan, he doesn't see the field unless the Ducks are up 30, but he's a special talent who might be the star of the 2027 college football season if he doesn't leave early for the NFL.

At the very least, everyone will sleep better at night with him around as an insurance policy behind Moore. 

Biggest Loss

Tionne Gray, DT (Notre Dame)
Gray goes from being a strong part of the Oregon rotation to a possible starring role on the inside of Marcus Freeman's defensive front.

The 6-6, 340-pounder is done, and so is 6-5, 330-pound Terrance Green to Alabama – that's, literally, two big losses.

Other Names to Know

• Koi Perich, S (Minnesota)
• Carl Williams IV, CB (Baylor)
• Bailey Ettridge, P (Nevada)

CFN Season Prediction

It really is amazing that Oregon hasn't lost to anyone but the elite of the national championship elite over the last three seasons, and it gets even wilder than that.

Oregon had that one odd blip against Stanford early in the 2021 season. Other than that, the program hasn't lost to a team that finished with fewer than ten wins since 2020.

Yes, this team is amazing, and we've been going overboard on how good it should be, and it gets even better.

No Indiana, Penn State, or Iowa, and this year, missing Minnesota and Wisconsin is a plus.

CFN Prediction: 10-2

Okay, so why the projected record for a team that could win the national title?

At Ohio State. That's one likely loss, and remember, it took everything in the bag last year to get by Penn State in overtime and survive Iowa.

This year's schedule has frightening landmines at USC and Illinois, and with Michigan and Washington coming to Eugene.

Let's put it in win total terms – if we could predict Oregon would win 10.5 games, we would.

But even if there are two losses, the Ducks will get back to the College Football Playoff, and then it's on. 

For a program this good, the first 12 games are just preseason tune-ups.

Related: Oregon Football 2026 Schedule: Full Breakdown, Season Outlook

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos