Big Ten Powerhouse Facing The 2nd-Most Pressure In College Football Next Season

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning looks on during the Oregon Ducks' annual spring game. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Oregon Ducks are the perfect example of close, but not close enough.

The Ducks have made the last two College Football Playoff appearances, and for most teams, that would be a great achievement. The issue is that Oregon has been in this position for about two decades. Meaning they've been a team right there and on the verge of getting it done, but haven't quite been able to get over the hump.

Oregon has appeared in two national championship games (one BCS and one CFP) and three College Football Playoffs. The issue is that the Ducks' run has ended with them losing by an average of 19.75 points. Only the three-point loss to the Auburn Tigers in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game was a close contest.

Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore (5) looks to pass against the Indiana Hoosiers. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Given how things have gone, Brooks Austin believes that Oregon is facing the second-most pressure of any team entering the 2026 season, behind only the Texas Longhorns.

"I think we go Oregon here at two for this reason, Jonathan," Austin said on 'The Film Guy Network.' "If Dan Lanning loses in the quarterfinals again, I think everybody's going to be like, 'What in the hell?' ... I think the timeline has created a little bit more pressure for Dan Lanning going into this season than it has for Marcus Freeman... I'm going to put Oregon right here at number two for the most pressurized football team to go win this year."

The reality is, Lanning likely won't face pressure to be fired as long as he continues to deliver double-digit win seasons and gets the Ducks to the College Football Playoff. But he will face some pressure to get them over the hump.

Because if he continues to get them to the playoffs, but the team keeps getting blown out in their final game in the playoffs, then it will take just one slip-up a season for the Ducks to move on. The Penn State Nittany Lions and James Franklin are a good example of this.

No, they didn't make several College Football Playoffs, but he won double-digit games in three straight seasons, including the team's first CFP appearance. The Nittany Lions went all the way to the semifinals before being knocked out in 2024.

The issue for Franklin was that he struggled to get over the hump and win the big game, so when he started 3-3 in 2025, after a ton of offseason expectations, that gave the team the out to make a move.

That's the pressure Lanning would be under if he never got over the hump. That's why it would be best for him if he could lead Oregon to the title this year, and then the pressure immediately goes away.