Oregon Fans Will Love National Analyst's College Football Playoff Predictions

The Oregon Ducks are one of the many national championship contenders who are expected to make a deep run in the college football playoffs.

The Oregon Ducks recently received a major projection, as Brooks Austin, also known as The Film Guy, projected that the Oregon Ducks will be the 2026 national champions.

Brooks Austin College Football Playoff Projection

Oregon Ducks dan lanning eugene autzen stadium georgia bulldogs national championship texas longhorns notre dame unlv rebels. — Oregon head coach Dan Lanning listens to a reporter’s question during the head coaches’ press conference ahead of the Peach Bowl at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia, on Jan. 8, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Austin seeded the Oregon Ducks as the No. 5 seed, meaning that they would have to play in the first round of the college football playoffs, rather than being one of the four teams that won a conference championship and received a bye to begin the playoff slate.

The reported conference champion winner that Austin had for the Big Ten was the Indiana Hoosiers, who entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed just one year removed from their national championship victory. The remainder of the byes included the No. 2-ranked Miami Hurricanes, No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs, and the No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

For the first round matchups, he projected that the Oregon Ducks would play against the No. 12 seed, which was the Group of Five representative, the UNLV Rebels. The remainder of the games consisted of the No. 8 BYU Cougars vs. No. 9 Texas Longhorns, No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. No. 10 Alabama Crimson Tide, and the No. 6 Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners.

After Austin had the Ducks advance, they would then matchup with the No. 4 seed, which means Oregon's next win would come over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

The Oregon Ducks and the Texas Longhorns match up for one half of the semi-finals, after both teams were projected to win their second-round matchup. On the other side of the coin is a game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Miami Hurricanes.

Brooks Austin's National Championship Prediction

Austin would have the Bulldogs and the Ducks in what would be the perfect battle between an SEC defense and a Big Ten offense, as both teams seem to be real threats to win the national championship ahead of the 2026 season.

In the end, Austin projected that the Big Ten and the Oregon Ducks would get the final laugh, hoisting the trophy over their heads for the first time in program history.

Does This Seem Fitting?

While the Ducks face a tough schedule in this projection, none of the games seem impossible for the Ducks to win. In fact, one could argue that the Ducks could be favored against each of the teams they play in this projected playoff bracket.

Oregon's defense is good enough to withstand any attack that they play against in 2026 and will be able to dominate even the average offense due to their versatility across the board. This is the biggest factor in why they will be a playoff favorite come the beginning of the season, and will be a team that many put their money on.

This also takes plenty of pressure off the offense, as they would just need to be good enough, rather than having to be elite thanks to the defensive talent. While this prediction could very well be wrong, Oregon is becoming more and more of a popular choice to win the national championship in 2026.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google