The 2026 college football season has a ton of potential for the Oregon Ducks as it could mark the season the program finally breaks through to win a National Championship. Coming off back to back trips to the College Football Playoff, the roster has all the talent you could ask for, and the momentum Dan Lanning has built has made outsiders believe it's a matter of when he'll win a championship, not if he'll win a championship.
Winning it all is incredibly hard, and you can look back throughout the history of the sport and find plenty of coaches and players who came close but still never got over the top. If Dan Lanning is going to reach college football's pinnacle, 2026 may be the best chance he has thanks to the Ducks' biggest star.
Dan Lanning and Dante Moore receive overwhelming praise ahead of 2026
Before every college football season, there are tons of predictions from the Coaches Poll to the AP Poll to Preseason All-American Teams to Award Watchlists. The early predictions sometimes end up making everyone look like geniuses, and other times the prediction couldn't be further from coming true.
Heading into 2026, every Oregon Ducks fan will hope that CBS Sports is right as they voted Dan Lanning to be their Preseason Coach of the Year.
The @CBSSportsCFB Preseason Coach of the Year is @oregonfootball's Dan Lanning 🦆
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) August 18, 2026
🔗 https://t.co/c1y4Rew7zm pic.twitter.com/8FCY9X4b9H
When you look at what Dan Lanning has done in such a short period of time while navigating a new era of college sports, it's clear that he's in the upper echelon of true CEO coaches. The Ducks have adapted perfectly to the NIL and Revenue Sharing eras, while Dan Lanning has been able to translate it into wins on the field.
While Dan Lanning has done everything right at Oregon, sometimes it still comes down to having all the right players to help a coach win their first National Championship. Luckily for Dan Lanning, Oregon heads into the 2026 season with one of the best quarterbacks in the country, with Dante Moore back for another season.
CBS Sports paired the best coach in the country with his quarterback, as Dante Moore was named the Preseason Player of the Year.
The @CBSSportsCFB Preseason Player of the Year is @oregonfootball QB Dante Moore 🦆
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) August 18, 2026
🔗 https://t.co/c1y4Rew7zm pic.twitter.com/zWa8kl6LAF
Dante Moore made a massive risk returning to college football for another season when he was projected to be the 2nd overall pick in the NFL Draft. Offensive Coordinator Will Stein leaving for Kentucky could've been enough to scare Moore into not rolling the dice, but he clearly trusts his head coach enough that he returned despite having a new coordinator.
Dan Lanning and Dante Moore need each other in many ways, and both could end up completing the others' legacy this season. If Dan Lanning's offensive coordinator hire pans out, and the offensive players he helped recruit reach that star level, Dante Moore could leave school as the No. 1 pick in the draft and a Heisman Trophy winner.
Dan Lanning has become the identity of Oregon Football, changing the Ducks from a team everyone saw as soft, but explosive into a physical team that wins in the trenches. While the toughness of the Ducks will still be important, Dante Moore can bring that flash to the offense that every team needs to get over the hump.
The 2026 college football season can be a historic year for the Oregon Ducks, and the marriage between QB and head coach is the perfect formula for success.
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