What the Big Ten's Expanded Playoff Proposal Would Mean for the Oregon Ducks

The Big Ten is reportedly considering the idea of College Football Playoff expansion, and a potential 24-team bracket using the results of the 2025 season has been revealed. The Oregon Ducks would have held the No. 5 seed, but Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his team could have hosted the winner of No. 12 BYU vs. No. 21 Houston in the hypothetical bracket.

The Ducks would still have been on the same side of the bracket as No. 4 Texas Tech as well as No. 1 Indiana. The biggest change? Oregon's margin for error significantly increases, especially with Lanning at the helm of the program.

oregon ducks college football playoff expansion dante moore dan lanning big ten conference championships autzen stadium — Oregon quarterback Dante Moore walks off the field as the Oregon Ducks face the Indiana Hoosiers in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 9, 2026, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NEW: An internal Big Ten document explores a 24-team College Football Playoff. It offers a peek at what that model could look like, as another off-season of CFP discussion is set to unfold. Details here: https://t.co/on2sqej1H8 pic.twitter.com/j6twmdqyFp
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 13, 2026

College Football Playoff Expansion Impact

The 24-team playoff that the Big Ten is reportedly proposing gives the top-eight teams a bye in the first round, and the first two rounds of the postseason would be played at the higher seed's home field, per ESPN's Pete Thamel.

In Oregon's two seasons in the Big Ten, the Ducks are 23-1 in the regular season with two CFP appearances. In 2023, Oregon's final season in the Pac-12, the Ducks finished 11-1. Finishing the season with 11 wins would practically guarantee a first-round bye in the expanded CFP proposal.

Ducks fans are familiar with the feeling of a season-crumbling loss in November, but Oregon has finished inside of the top 15 of the final CFP rankings in every year since 2021. If that success continues, the Ducks would be making consistent postseason appearances.

Would such a large playoff field take away the excitement from the regular season?

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One potential issue could be determining a conference champion of leagues with 18 teams without a conference championship game, though. Ohio State and Indiana finished the 2025 regular season undefeated, and the Hoosiers won the Big Ten title over the Buckeyes on the field. In future cases with a 24-team playoff, teams might have to split a conference championship if they did not face off during the year.

12-Team Playoff, For Now

Discussions of the CFP format, specifically how many teams make up the bracket, were a constant theme of the 2025 season, but the postseason for college football will remain at 12 teams for at least 2026.

Oregon's schedule features road games against the USC Trojans and Ohio State Buckeyes, and the Ducks are set to host the Michigan Wolverines, Nebraska Cornhuskers, and Washington Huskies as part of the home slate at Autzen Stadium.

Lanning and the Ducks can likely afford a loss and potentially two, but expectations are sky high with quarterback Dante Moore returning to an offense with wide receivers Evan Stewart and Dakorien Moore. Alabama was the only team with three losses to reach the CFP after the 2025 season, and one of the Crimson Tide's losses came in the SEC Championship Game.

Oregon was knocked off at home against Indiana in 2025, but the Ducks have been formidable inside of Autzen. The Nov. 7 tilt with Ohio State is likely the most circled by Oregon fans, but an early-season trip to Southern California against the Trojans shouldn't be overlooked.