The Ohio State Buckeyes are one of five teams CBS Sports' Brad Crawford believes can hand the Oregon Ducks one of four losses he projects Oregon suffering in the worst-case scenario during the upcoming 2026 College Football season. The USC Trojans, TTUN, Washington Huskies, and, believe it or not, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, are the other four.
Per Crawford, "Dan Lanning has never lost more than two conference games in his four seasons as Oregon's coach, but let's say the coordinator departures from his 2026 staff come back to haunt the Ducks. Maybe Oklahoma State -- with an entirely new team under Eric Morris -- shocks Oregon in Stillwater early before the Ducks go 1-3 against the likes of USC, Ohio State, Michigan, and Washington. Is it really that far-fetched?"
While Crawford believes the Ducks could also go 11-1, it's clear that the CBS Sports writer feels Oregon has exploitable weaknesses, enough at least that they'd be written off as a potential undefeated program this fall. For reference, Crawford gave Ohio State a ceiling of 12-0, despite having the hardest schedule in the league.
Oregon may never be ready to be Ohio State's 1A in the Big Ten
ESPN's Bill Connelly has the Ducks and Buckeyes on nearly similar footing in the Big Ten for the 2026 season. Per Connelly, "If the Big Ten is to extend its streak to four different national champions in four years -- following Michigan in 2023, Ohio State in 2024 and Indiana last fall -- it's pretty clear that Oregon is the runaway favorite in that regard. SP+ projects the Ducks a few spots higher than where Schlabach had them (fifth). But Oregon might have to topple a familiar foe to finally win its title ring. Ohio State (sixth, per Schlabach) starts out as a comfortable No. 1 in SP+. That makes sense, of course, as the Buckeyes were No. 1 for most of last season, they boast an immaculate recent history, and they're a healthy 31st in returning production. They start out a bit ahead of Oregon, Notre Dame, Georgia, and the other most likely contenders."
Statistically, the two teams are similar on paper. There's returning production, dynamic quarterbacks who are dynamic in different ways, uber-athletic defenders ticketed for an NFL future, and a great receiving corps. Both replaced their offensive coordinator. That's where the similarities end.
Historically, Oregon is a school that's frequently come close to glory, but always comes up empty. The Ducks have never won a national championship, and probably have the rest of Phil Knight's time as Nike CEO to buy a championship roster. Oregon desperately needs to get over the hump soon.
It just might not be in the Ducks' DNA to actually get the job done. Dan Lanning is seemingly as good as it gets as a head coach, but that championship experience with the Georgia Bulldogs has still not translated in the B1G. Replacing both coordinators, especially top-notch assistants like Will Stein and Tosh Lupoi, might be too big a task to win the big one in 2026, finally.
Mainly because, unlike with Ryan Day's staff at OSU, with Matt Patricia and Arthur Smith, and even Chip Kelly before them, there aren't former NFL head coaches walking through that door to replace that duo in Eugene.
Oregon may need to be resigned to the fact that the Ducks will always be No. 2, not No. 1A, to Ohio State, or even the Indiana Hoosiers.