Oregon Planning to Change Biggest College Football Playoff Problem

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The Oregon Ducks are entering the 2026 campaign with a lot of momentum after their runs in the last two seasons.

The Ducks won the Big Ten championship in 2024. In 2025, head coach Dan Lanning won two College Football Playoff games.

Both seasons ended in disasters, with blowout losses coming to Ohio State and Indiana.

During the Big Ten Media Days in Chicago on Wednesday, Lanning told reporters he thinks this season will be different because of the experience the Ducks have on their roster.

"Obviously, we have some great returning players that have been big contributors to our program," Lanning said, via USA Today. "One thing I recognize is that last year I felt like we had a team with a ton of talent.

"This year, I feel like we have a team that has a lot of experience returning. A lot of those young players that played are now guys that have also had great experience, and I'm excited to see what that looks like."

Oregon's losses to Ohio State and Indiana in the CFP came after playing both teams in the regular season. The Ducks beat Ohio State in the regular season, but they lost to Indiana at home by 10 points. In their rematches, Oregon played worse in both games.

Lanning said the Ducks are studying how to play better in rematches, something that could be an obstacle in the CFP this season.

"You know, obviously, it's it's been it's a it's a tough league," Lanning said of the Big Ten. "I think that speaks volumes about our league, especially when you're talking about repeat games within our league. We got some unbelievable coaches, great teams, and there's a lot of things we've studied with ourselves in this off-season.

"Sometimes the ball's got to bounce the right way. Sometimes you could do stuff different schematically, and I think we'll take all those notes. All the things that we've really studied about ourselves. We've studied some other teams that have won games in their second opportunity, and we're looking for our opportunity to be a team like that. But means you've got to be clicking on all cylinders at the end of the year."

The Ducks will benefit from quarterback Dante Moore returning, and better play from him in the CFP could be what gets the team over the top.

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