No Excuses For The Ducks This 2026 Season.

The Oregon Ducks schedule is looking like a cake walk until they have to go to The Shoe (Ohio State) in week 9, and then possibly Michigan (if they pan out) at home in week 10, and of course, week 12 rival week against Washington is always a toss-up, as is every rival game. Floor: 9-3 Ceiling: 12-0

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore (5) rolls out of the pocket during the Indiana Hoosiers versus Oregon Ducks College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl

Coming into the season with one of, if not the most established and reliable quarterbacks, Dante Moore. Last year, Moore had 296 completions, 30 touchdowns thrown, for a total of 3,565 yards on the season, which puts him 12th on ESPN’s college football quarterback ratings. 

Along with Moore, a few other players are coming back, specifically on offense; They have offensive lineman lapani laloulu, wide receiver Evan Stewart, who averaged 12.8 yards per catch in 2024 (coming off of season ending injury in 2025), and tight end Jamari Johnson, who was a big (literally 6’5”, 257lbs) asset for the ducks last season with 510 yds, averaging 15.9 yds per catch. 

Two players who are likely to have a breakout season are Dakorien Moore and Jeremiah McClellen, both of whom were underutilized wide receivers. Dakorien Moore had a very important 89 yards, 7 receptions in the Penn St game last year that went to double overtime. 

But by far my favorite two offensive players are the duo of running backs Dierre Hill Jr and Jordan Davison. Both were true freshmen last year sitting behind the now Houston Texans running back Noah Whittington. Even behind Whittington, Hill and Davison were able to combine for 650+ yards, with Davison having an impressive 15 tds. They are definitely players to keep an eye on this upcoming season.

Brandon Finney Jr. #4 of the Oregon Ducks lines up on defense during the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl against the Texas Tech Red Raiders

Oregon is hungrier than ever to get its first championship in school history. And everyone knows that defense wins championships, so let's go over the Ducks' defensive players coming back from last season. 

Since last year, the Ducks have retained their entire starting line with two of the highest-rated edge rushers in the country, Matayo Uiagalelei and Teitum Tuioti. Alongside them, A'Mauri Washington ranked as the top 3 defensive tackles in the country, and Bear Alexander, entering his redshirt senior season, was Big Ten all-defensive 2nd team. 

You can't talk about Oregon's defense without bringing up its elite secondary, led by Brandon Finney Jr. Last year in his freshman debut Finney didn't allow a single catch in his first 8 starts. Other notable players are former five-star Na’eem Offord and top-ranked safety out of the portal, Koi Perich.

Will all of this be enough for Oregon to finally break their long-lasting drought without a championship trophy in their trophy case? I can't see a world where Oregon isn't in the game, at least. I think it will come down to how bad they want it because there's no doubt they have the talent to get it done.