Oregon's Playoff Projection Presents Potential Matchup With Familiar Face

The Oregon Ducks will be looking to make the College Football Playoff for the third straight year and fourth time in program history this season.

Oregon Ducks' College Football Playoff Projection

Oregon Ducks Dan Lanning National Championship College Football Playoff Big Ten Ohio State Buckeyes Projection Indiana — Dec 31, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning during the Rose Bowl head coaches press conference at Sheraton Grand LA. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Brett McMurphy of On3 released his post-spring playoff projections. Here were his 12 playoff teams ranked from 1-12.

No. 1 Miami Hurricanes
No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes
No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs
No. 5 Oregon Ducks
No. 6 Texas Longhorns
No. 7 Indiana Hoosiers
No. 8 Texas A&M Aggies
No. 9 Texas Tech Red Raiders
No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners
No. 11 Penn State Nittany Lions
No. 12 North Dakota State Bison

The Ducks are projected as the No. 5 seed, which would slate them in a first round matchup against North Dakota State. This game would be played at Autzen Stadium.

NEW: Post-Spring College Football Playoff Prediction via @Brett_McMurphy🏆

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— On3 (@On3) May 6, 2026

If Oregon were to win this game, they would then be set to face No. 4 seed Georgia in the quarterfinal. This would put Oregon coach Dan Lanning against Georgia coach Kirby Smart. Lanning was the defensive coordinator for Smart when Georgia won the 2021 national championship. That offseason, Lanning took the Oregon head coaching job, where he has accumulated an overall record of 48-8 in his first four seasons.

If Oregon were to win this game, they would advance to the semifinal. The No. 1 seed on this side of the bracket is Miami. Oregon would be going against their former head coach, Mario Cristobal. Cristobal coached the Ducks from 2018-2021.

Oregon's Odds to Win Playoff

Oregon earned the No. 5 seed last season the playoff and faced off with the No. 12 ranked James Madison Dukes in Eugene. The Ducks won this game and went on to beat No. 4 seed Texas Tech in the quarterfinals before losing to the eventual national champion Indiana Hoosiers.

This made it a second season in a row with Oregon losing to the eventual national champs in the playoff. The prior season, Oregon was the No. 1 ranked team in the playoff. They lost in the quarterfinal to the eventual champions, Ohio State.

The Ducks are still chasing their first national title in program history. They have knocked at the door a couple times, losing in the 2010-11 BCS National Championship game and the 2014-15 College Football Playoff National Championship game.

Will this be the year Oregon finally gets over the hump and wins it all? They are one of the favorites according to DraftKings Sportsbook. Oregon has the fifth best odds to win the national title at +800. Here is the top five.

Ohio State +650
Notre Dame +700
Indiana +750
Texas +750
Oregon +800

The past three seasons, the Big Ten has won the national title. Furthermore, it has been three different programs: Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio State. If this trend continues, Oregon would be a prime candidate to be that fourth straight different Big Ten team to win it.

The Ducks will kick off their 2026 season at Autzen Stadium against the Boise State Broncos on Sept. 5.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

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