Hasn't doesn't mean can't.
Just 15 schools have won a national championship since it became a lot harder to win one, when college football started trying to determine a national championship on the field. Before that, all a team had to do was have a one-loss season, win one post season game and place first in one of a half-dozen polls to claim one.
Which, coincidentally, is exactly the standard Oregon met in 2024. They went undefeated in the regular season, won a postseason game against a Top Ten team, and finished No. 1 in the Wolfe and Hester computer rankings.
Until December 31, Oregon stood unanimous No. 1 in the AP Poll. No one is claiming a national championship for that feat, just pointing out that until 2024, that's all it took to win it: Great regular season, win one postseason game, be chosen first in one poll.
Now it's a three- or four-game gauntlet against four of the best teams in the game. Ohio State beat No. 9 Tennessee, No. 1 Oregon, No. 5 Texas and No. 7 Notre Dame to win the first 12-team College Football Playoff. Hats off to them. Under the old system, their 10-2 record would have gotten them into the Outback Bowl.
Conference championship games ratchet up that degree of difficulty, one more game against a top opponent, often a team a program had to beat twice. In the coming years, the Ducks and Buckeyes (or Longhorns and Bulldogs) might have seasons where they'd have to face each other three times.
It's a lot harder now. By opening the playoffs to more teams the College Football Playoff Committee has actually ensured that only a true deep-pocketed, talent-stacked blueblood will ever win one. Cinderella will never survive this many evil Aunts.
The biggest reason Oregon's never won a national title
More importantly, while Oregon has been competitive and successful for the last 30 years, no Oregon coach has stacked as much talent as Dan Lanning is doing now.
Of the Top 20 recruits in school history, five are in the class of 2026, three were in the 2025 class and one came to Oregon in 2023, Jurrion Dickey.
Think of all the great players the Ducks have had since recruiting rankings began. Players like Haloti Ngata, Jonathan Stewart, De Anthony Thomas, Kayvon Thibodeaux. Next season Oregon will have nine players of that caliber on the roster, more if they score a couple in the transfer portal.
Imagine a team with seven first round draft picks or six All-Americans. That's Georgia/Alabama/Ohio State stuff. That's the kind of talent built to win a national title in a playoff era. Dudes everywhere, impact players and matchup nightmares. All-timers, Hall of Famers and a one of one, led by a quarterback who has the juice and nerves of steel.
The Ducks have been good for a long time, but now they're reaching for great. National titles are no longer won on heart and hype. A program has to beat the best over a month. And that takes a deep roster full of program-defining ability.