Oregon football schedule among toughest in the nation, per CBS Sports
· Yahoo Sports
Make no mistake, the Oregon Ducks are expected to return to the College Football Playoff in 2026 after lasting until the semifinals last season. Throughout the season, the Ducks battled a narrative of playing an easy schedule with few ranked foes, outside of their October loss to Indiana. This season, that is not likely to be the case again.
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CBS Sports' Brad Crawford ranked the toughest schedules for CFP contenders around the country, and the Ducks are among those facing a gauntlet on the schedule in the Big Ten. Oregon placed 11th on Crawford's list, trailing Ohio State (3), Michigan (4) and USC (8) within the conference. Texas and Oklahoma took the top two spots, respectively.
"The opener against Boise State and trips to Oklahoma State and USC in September should show us everything we need to know about the Ducks," Crawford wrote. "Then there's the reality of facing Ohio State, Michigan and Washington over the final four weeks -- teams that don't just beat you, they expose you if you're not complete. These are roster-check games where physicality at the line of scrimmage and depth in the fourth quarter will decide the winner. Oregon won't be able to out-talent everyone the way it might against lesser competition; execution becomes non-negotiable for Dan Lanning's group in November."
The Ducks will be well-traveled, playing games from out west in Eugene and Los Angeles all the way out to Illinois and Ohio. Oregon also won't have as forgiving a non-conference schedule this time around. They'll host soon-to-be Pac-12 representative Boise State at Autzen Stadium to open the season before traveling to Stillwater to take on a new and very much improved Oklahoma State team.
An early bye after a Week 4 trip to USC isn't ideal, as the Ducks will finish the season in November with a trip to Ohio State, home for Michigan, at Michigan State and back home for Washington, all in consecutive weeks. That could be three ranked games in four weeks for the Ducks.
Oregon would be wise not to look past an improved UCLA team off a bye in Week 6, now led by former James Madison coach Bob Chesney, whom the Ducks saw in Eugene for the first round of the CFP last season. It will certainly be a harder road for Dan Lanning, but the Ducks could build a resume worthy of the top overall seed if everything goes right.
On the flip side, losses later in the season are more likely to hurt the Ducks' playoff chances than an early loss while teams are still sorting through issues. That makes the November slate a bit daunting. If the Ducks were to drop multiple games in the month, they could be holding their breath on Selection Sunday.
Oregon's defense stood tall in the spring game, and the weapons out wide on offense made big plays that spark optimism that the Ducks could take another step forward in the postseason with one of the most talented rosters in program history, which is expected to produce multiple first-round picks.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon Ducks football facing top 15 toughest schedule in 2026