Ducks Digest

Oregon Ducks Picked To Win National Championship Over Texas Longhorns

The Oregon Ducks are projected to be the No. 1 seed and win the 2026 National Championship game over the Texas Longhorns. Can quarterback Dante Moore help lead coach Dan Lanning's Ducks to their first title over coach Steve Sarkisian's Longhorns?

Cory Pappas

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning leads practice with the Ducks Thursday, April 6, 2023, in Eugene, Ore. Sports Oregon Footballspring Practice
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning leads practice with the Ducks Thursday, April 6, 2023, in Eugene, Ore. Sports Oregon Footballspring Practice / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The Oregon Ducks are projected to be the No. 1 seed and win the 2026 College Football Playoff according to On3’s J.D. PicKell. PicKell put out his 12-team playoff projections for next season and has coach Dan Lanning and Oregon winning it all. 

J.D. PicKell Picks Oregon Ducks To Win National Championship

Dec 7, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks celebrate defeating the Penn Sta
Dec 7, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks celebrate defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions to win the Big Ten Championship in the 2024 Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images / Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

On3’s J.D. PicKell is high on the Oregon Ducks heading into next season. PicKell released his College Football Playoff projections for next season and has Oregon at No. 1. Furthermore, PicKell has Oregon doing what they couldn't do last season as the No. 1 seed, winning the whole thing.

The Texas Longhorns are at No. 2, Clemson Tigers at No. 3, Arizona State Sun Devils at No. 4. These four teams would get a first round bye for winning their conferences. 

The teams rounding out the rest of PicKell’s playoff projection the Georgia Bulldogs at No. 5, Notre Dame Fighting Irish at No. 6, Ohio State Buckeyes at No. 7, Penn State Nittany Lions at No. 8, LSU Tigers at No. 9, South Carolina Gamecocks at No. 10, Kansas State Wildcats at No. 11, and UNLV Rebels at No. 12. 

PicKell sees a very interesting path to the National Championship for the Ducks. He has the Ducks facing and beating three different SEC teams. The No. 9 seeded LSU Tigers in the quarterfinals, the No. 5 seeded Georgia Bulldogs in the semifinals, and the No. 2 seeded Texas Longhorns in the National Championship game. Next season’s National Championship game will be played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Ducks hope to be the ones hoisting a trophy there in January. 

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Ducks Looking To Build On Last Season

Oregon players walk off the field as the Oregon Ducks face the Ohio State Buckeyes Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in the quarterfin
Oregon players walk off the field as the Oregon Ducks face the Ohio State Buckeyes Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in the quarterfinal of the College Football Playoff at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In their first year as a member of the Big Ten conference in 2024, Oregon went undefeated in the regular season and won the conference title game against Penn State. Despite being 13-0 with a conference title, the No. 1 seeded Ducks lost their first game in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals to the Ohio State Buckeyes at the Rose Bowl. Even with all the good they did in the previous 13 games, that image of Ohio State going up 34-0 on Oregon in the first half of the Rose Bowl will leave a sour taste in the mouth of any Duck player or fan.

Now, Oregon must get past that and be better this season. The Ducks will turn to quarterback Dante Moore, who is the projected starter for Week 1 against the Montana State Bobcats on Aug. 30. Moore sat behind quarterback Dillon Gabriel last season and only saw the field in mop up duty. Moore has one year of experience as a starter in college. He played his freshman year at UCLA in 2023 before transferring to Oregon.

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Cory Pappas
CORY PAPPAS

Cory Pappas is sports writer for USC Trojans On SI and Oregon Ducks On SI. Since starting in March of 2024, he has been writing breaking news stories, game previews, game recaps, and more across College Sports, the NFL, MLB, NBA, and Olympics for Total Apex Sports. In addition to writing, Cory is also a sports data scout for Sportradar. He covers live sporting events ranging from college athletics to semi-pro and professional. Before joining the industry, Cory graduated from the University of Oregon in 2022. He ran track for Oregon's club Track and Field team. Before Oregon, he played varsity basketball and track and field in high school in Walnut Creek, CA. Cory is using his lifelong passion for sports and writing together.

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