Oregon's championship aspirations hinge on a critical offensive line fix. Can they protect their explosive weapons to conquer the Big Ten?
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning's crowning achievement was leading the program to a Big Ten championship in 2024.
The Ducks made it to the College Football Playoff that season, but were blown out by Ohio State in the quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl.
Last season, eventual-Big Ten and national champion Indiana beat the Ducks in Eugene to keep Oregon from the conference championship. While Oregon won two CFP games, it was blown out 56-22 in the CFP semifinal by Indiana.
The Ducks are expected to be national title contenders with quarterback Dante Moore returning for 2026. However, OU will face stiff competition from IU and Ohio State for the conference prize.
During his show on Thursday, Josh Pate argued the Ducks will need to fix their offensive line this spring if they want to compete for the Big Ten championship.
"Likewise with Oregon, you can talk all you want to with Ohio State about replacing this or that," Pate said. Oregon, what are they going to do about this offensive line? Everybody's got questions...
"But when it comes to questions in spring ball, because everyone's got them. So until you show me this perfect team out there, I am not knocking your potential ability to win the Big Ten just because you've got to replace, fill in the blank on the O line."
While the offensive line will be a big issue for a quarterback that struggled when facing pressure in big games last season, the Ducks will still have weapons all over the field.
Pate argued that even with a suspect offensive line, Oregon and Ohio State have the best shot at winning the conference.
"Because I know what you have outside of that, I know you got Dakorien Moore coming back," Pate said. "I know you got Evan Stewart coming back.
"I know who's throwing them the ball if everyone's healthy up there. I got so few questions about Oregon relative to the rest of the Big Ten. So I've got them at a ten as well.”
The Ducks had questions about their offensive line before the 2025 campaign. The offensive line mostly held up, but didn't do its part against Indiana or Texas Tech in the CFP.