When the Preseason polls are released, there's a strong chance that the Oregon Ducks are ranked as the best team in the Country. The Oregon Ducks have gone 17-1 in Big Ten play since moving leagues with a 48-8 record overall since Dan Lanning took over in Eugene. While recent history will tell you that Oregon would be strong regardless, this team is going to be loaded with talent.
Dante Moore, A'Mauri Washington, and Matayo Uiagalelei all turned down being potential 1st Round Picks to return for another season giving the Ducks 3 superstars. The Ducks already recruit at an elite level, and adding in big name transfers like Koi Perich and Iverson Hooks only make losing pieces to the NFL easier to overcome.
As everyone looks ahead to the college football season, Oregon seems like an easy pick to make the College Football Playoff. If the Ducks are going to stumble for any reason, it'll be because a fatal flaw ends up derailing this team.
Oregon lost two star coordinators at the worst possible time
When you look at the Oregon Ducks roster, it's hard to find many true questions let alone "holes". If there's anything that's going to keep Oregon from finally winning it all in 2026, it's the fact that Dan Lanning is replacing both his offensive and defensive coordinators in the same offseason.
After spending 3 seasons as Oregon's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Will Stein took the Kentucky head coaching job. Will Stein did outstanding work with Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and Dante Moore allowing the Ducks to score 38.2 points per game in 2025, 34.9 in 2024, and 44.2 in 2023 with Nix.
Dante Moore returns to school for another season, passing up a chance to likely be the 2nd Overall Pick in the NFL Draft. Having Dante Moore back with Will Stein would've set the Ducks up to light up scoreboards, but there's certainly going to be an adjustment as Drew Mehringer takes over as offensive coordinator.
Tosh Lupoi has been the Oregon Ducks defensive coordinator over the same time period leading the unit for the past 3 seasons. This season was yet another dominant year for his defense as the Ducks finished 8th in scoring defense allowing just 14.8 points per game.
After the crushing loss to Indiana in the College Football Playoff, Oregon got a pair of potential 1st Round Picks back in the fold with Matayo Uiagalelei and A'Mauri Washington returning for another season. As this defense loses two incredibly important pieces in Dillon Thieneman and Bryce Boettcher, having Lupoi calling the defense once again would've been key.
At the end of the day, the talent on this roster may be enough to overcome any hiccups that the new coordinators have. The Ducks have been knocking on the door year over year, and Dan Lanning's group knows more than anyone how many things need to lineup perfectly in order to win it all. The biggest question and concern will be if the new coordinators are capable of calling their units at a high enough level.