Where Oregon Ducks Land in Early College Football Playoff Projection

The Oregon Ducks have come up short of earning a spot in the National Championship the past two seasons but Dan Lanning's team isn't going away anytime soon.

Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning on the field prior to the 2025 Peach Bowl and semifinal game of the College Football Playoff against the Indiana Hoosiers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Oregon Ducks have found no shortage of success the past two seasons under coach Dan Lanning but the program has still come up short of its monumental goals.

Back-to-back trips to the College Football Playoff and a 26-3 overall record in that span has no resulted in a trip to the National Championship, but don't expect the Ducks to fall out contention anytime soon.

Oregon Ducks Secure At-Large Bid in ESPN's CFP Projections

Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore looks to pass against the Indiana Hoosiers during the first half of the 2025 Peach Bowl and semifinal game of the College Football Playoff at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

In ESPN's early College Football Playoff projections for next season, Oregon slides into the bracket as an at-large team, joining a slew of other elite programs.

ESPN has Oregon coming in as a No. 9 seed, which sets up a road game at Hard Rock Stadium against the No. 8 Miami Hurricanes.

The Ducks beat Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl on Miami's home field during the CFP Quarterfinals and will look to do the same thing on the same field in this scenario. This sets up a rematch with the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers, a game in which the Ducks get revenge.

Full Look at ESPN's Projected Bracket

Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning reacts during the first half of the 2025 Peach Bowl and semifinal game of the College Football Playoff against the Indiana Hoosiers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

ESPN has Oregon upsetting No. 1 Indiana and earning a spot in the CFP Semifinals once again, this time against the No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Here's a look at the complete bracket:

ESPN’s way too early college football playoff prediction for 2026! pic.twitter.com/Tr1lzcMIva

— College Football Zone (@CollegeFBonX) January 23, 2026

ESPN's Bill Connelly's evaluated Oregon ahead of next season:

"As with Georgia, the Ducks' defense thrived ahead of schedule, with a pretty young core, in 2025," Connelly wrote. "I was skeptical of the addition of transfer quarterback Dylan Raiola (Nebraska), but with the announced return of quarterback Dante Moore and a fabulous crop of 2025 freshmen, the Ducks should be loaded once more. No one's a sure thing in college football now, but Dan Lanning's team is awfully close, even if it still needs to address that 'getting blown out by the eventual national champion in the CFP each year' thing."

It might seem too early to begin predicting what will happen during the 2026 CFP, but with most of the transfer portal craziness over and many rosters already set, college football fans have gotten a clearer picture about what each team might look like to start next year.

This includes Oregon, which has retooled through the portal while also securing some big-time roster retentions.

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Oregon's New-Look Roster Appears Primed for CFP

Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola (15) looks on during the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

While bringing back quarterback Dante Moore made the most headlines, the Ducks also made key additions out of the portal.

Oregon has added a few standouts in Minnesota safety Koi Perich, Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola and UAB wide receiver Iverson Hooks.

Other notable additions include North Carolina defensive lineman D'Antre Robinson, Baylor safety Carl Williams IV, Yale offensive tackle Michael Bennett, Oregon State edge rusher Bleu Dantzler, Penn State tight end Andrew Olesh, ULM defensive lineman Jerome Simmons, Ohio State cornerback Aaron Scott Jr. and Clemson defensive end Markus Dixon.