Despite a loaded roster led by Dante Moore, analyst JD Pickell ranks the Oregon Ducks behind two powerhouse rivals as trench warfare concerns cloud Oregon’s championship aspirations.
If there is a season that Dan Lanning can win with the Oregon Ducks, 2026 is it.
The Ducks return quarterback Dante Moore for his second season as a full-time starter. He's expected to be one of the top, if not the top, prospect for the 2027 NFL Draft.
He'll be throwing to Dakorien Moore and Evan Stewart. The defense is loaded too.
The only really question about the roster is how will the offensive line compete? It's fair to wonder, because the trenches killed the Ducks in their loss to Indiana in the College Football Playoff.
On3’s JD Pickell doesn't have Texas and Oregon at some combination of No. 1 and No. 2 for his national championship contender predictions. He ranked Texas at No. 6, and put the Ducks at No. 3 behind Ohio State at No. 2 and Georgia at No. 1.
Georgia is an interesting champion, just because we've seen the Bulldogs fizzle out in the CFP quarterfinal two years in a row. Both of those teams lacked physicality.
Pickell thinks quarterback Gunner Stockton and running backs Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens will be better.
The defense should be more experienced and the secondary will be elite with safety KJ Bolden and cornerback Ellis Robinson IV on the field. Both of those players could be first-round picks in 2027.
Ohio State at No. 2 feels little odd at this. Pickell thinks the transfer additions on defense will help the Buckeyes. The offense should have enough firepower with wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and quarterback Julian Sayin.
The offense shouldn't be the problem, though it might not be as good as people think. Sayin will have to show serious progress in 2026 if the Buckeyes are going to win with the offense.
The defense won't be what it was last season. The Buckeyes had three defensive players go in the first 11 picks of the 2026 draft. Two more were taken in the second round.
The transfers Ohio State brought in might help, but they won't replace what they lost to the NFL this offseason. The offense won't be good enough to cover.
