As part of Buckeye Sports Bulletin’s coverage of Big Ten Media Days (July 28-30), we are taking a look at several conference opponents Ohio State is scheduled to face during the 2026 season.
One question asked to a couple of different coaches at Big Ten Media Days was, “How many teams in college football have a legitimate chance to compete for the national championship?” According to Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, somewhere around 15 teams can compete for a national championship on a year-to-year basis.
Regardless of who you ask, Oregon is certainly one of those title-contenders this year. Returning 14 starters, including star quarterback Dante Moore, anything short of the first national championship in program history would be considered at least a slight disappointment by many who follow the sport.
Head coach Dan Lanning is well aware of what his team is expected to do with one of the most experienced and talented teams in college football. In fact, the fifth-year head coach said no one has higher expectations for Oregon than those affiliated with the team.
“You create pressure by the way you perform,” Lanning said. “Our guys have done a good job over the last few years creating pressure and expectations. Nobody has higher expectations than we do. I’m really confident about this team. I really like our team, but with that being said, we haven’t played a game yet. We have to see who we are, we have to see where we have to grow. You have to see where the ball bounces a couple times this year.”
Unlike other national title contenders, Oregon has scored some big wins in recent years. During a successful 2024 campaign that saw the Ducks win the Big Ten Championship in their first year in the conference, Lanning’s squad took down eventual national champions Ohio State and CFP semifinalist Penn State.
Last year, the Ducks won two playoff games, including one over Big 12 champion Texas Tech. However, the Ducks had each of their last two seasons end in humiliating fashion. In 2024, Oregon was dominated by Ohio State 41-21 in the CFP quarterfinals, and in the semifinals last year, Indiana dismantled Oregon 56-22 before winning the national championship.
“You have to score more points than the other team to win. We didn’t do that,” Lanning said when asked about what lessons Oregon learned from its most recent postseason losses. “We have to take care of the ball. You have to play winning football at the end of the season, and again, we’ve been close, but those aren’t our best performances.”
Although Moore had a great season last year, he was certainly part of the problem in the Ducks’ 34-point loss to the Hoosiers. Moore had three turnovers, which included a pick-six he threw on the first play from scrimmage.
It seemed likely that the loss to the Hoosiers would be Moore’s last game. Moore was considered by many draft experts to be a potential first-round pick had he declared for the 2026 NFL Draft.
However, Moore bypassed the chance to be selected early in the Draft and returned for another year at Oregon.
“I think it speaks to his maturity, what he wanted to accomplish,” Lanning said when asked about Moore’s decision to stay at Oregon. “Ultimately, Dante had goals for himself, and you never get the opportunity to go back. You couldn’t go back to high school after you leave high school. College, you have a choice, you have a decision. You don’t have to leave. I think that speaks volumes that he said, “Hey, I want to take advantage of this opportunity that sits in front of me and use it.”
Moore will try to build off a 2025 season, in which he threw for 3,565 yards, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing 71.8 percent of his passes.
At Big Ten Media Days, Moore was filled with optimism about his senior year.
“This year is going to be a great year,” Moore said. “This offseason was probably one of the greatest offseasons I’ve ever had, with me pushing myself and the coaches pouring into me.
With my decision to come back, there was a lot I had to learn and a lot I had to continue sharpening within my game. My teammates and I all love and appreciate each other. If anybody has an issue or something they need to work on, we make sure we give them our full effort and help them out. We’re excited for this season. It’s going to be a great year.”
One of the changes Moore made was to his weight. The former UCLA quarterback went from 203 pounds to 220 pounds, while maintaining his speed. He said he occasionally wondered if it was best to stay at Oregon for an extra year, but now Moore is solely focused on his upcoming season.
“There were days when I looked back after I first made the decision because I was thinking to myself, ‘Is this the right way to go?’ But that’s in the past now,” Moore said. “I’m making sure I bring full pressure and apply pressure going into this year. My teammates and I have made tremendous changes to our bodies and our speed this offseason.
Coach Wilson Love, our head strength coach, has done a great job pushing me and the entire team in the weight room. There’s no looking back now. I have to keep applying pressure. There’s nothing else after this, so I might as well give it everything I have.”
