EUGENE – ESPN’s College Football Countdown crew have officially locked in their national championship picks, and the three analysts went in different directions.
Oregon Ducks fans enter the 2026 season wondering, “Is this the year that Oregon wins its first ever title? Are the stars finally aligning?”
It’s the time of the year when every team is undefeated – except for the Week 0 matchups – and optimism is running wild.
For the Ducks though, there are legitimate reasons for optimism for coach Dan Lanning’s program in his fifth season in Eugene.
… and college football analyst Jesse Palmer thinks so too.
National Championship Winner Predictions
The picks are in! Greg McElroy selected Ohio State, Jesse Palmer chose Oregon and Booger McFarland picked Notre Dame to win the College Football Playoff National Championship.
But why does this matter?
It’s not just that Palmer believes in the Ducks to hoist the trophy come Jan. 25 in Las Vegas, Nevada… The path that he sees Oregon taking, would be even more meaningful.
First, Jesse Palmer’s CFP Bracket… And then the context behind it.
First Round
No. 5 Texas defeats No. 12 UNLV
No. 9 LSU defeats No. 8 Texas Tech
No. 6 Ohio State defeats No. 11 Oklahoma
No. 10 USC defeats No. 7 Indiana
Quarterfinals
No. 5 Texas defeats No. 4 Georgia
No. 1 Oregon defeats No. 9 LSU
No. 3 Miami defeats No. 6 Ohio State
No. 2 Notre Dame defeats No. 10 USC
Semifinals
No. 1 Oregon defeats No. 5 Texas
No. 3 Miami defeats No. 2 Notre Dame
National Championship
No. 1 Oregon defeats No. 3 Miami
An Epic Path To Oregon’s First National Title
So, Palmer has the Ducks advancing past the LSU Tigers, beating the Texas Longhorns in the semifinals and defeating the Miami Hurricanes in the national championship game.
First of all, the Ducks quarterfinal win over LSU, led by coach Lane Kiffin, would exorcise a demon. Oregon opened the 2011 season with a 40-27 loss to LSU after falling to Auburn in the national championship game the previous season. Oregon fans remember all too well the deflating deafeat and how it quieted Oregon’s hopes of returning to the title game.
Next up, would be the Texas Longhorns in what would be a star-studded matchup that includes two of the top expected NFL Draft picks in Oregon quarterback Dante Moore vs. Texas quarterback Arch Manning. A big storyline between these programs would be two young head coaches looking to win their first national championships as a head coach in Oregon’s Dan Lanning and Texas’ Steve Sarkisian.
Last but not least, a national championship game featuring Oregon and Miami would be must-see TV and a long-awaited matchup. Oregon was controversially left out of the 2001 title game, in which the Ducks would have faced Miami.
Oregon finished the regular season 10-1 and ranked No. 2 in both major polls, but the BCS placed the Ducks fourth and sent Nebraska to face Miami. The Hurricanes beat Nebraska 37-14 to win the championship… leaving Ducks fans to wonder “what if?”
An Oregon vs. Miami title game would also feature the Ducks playing vs. their former coach in Mario Cristobal, who the Ducks are currently battling on the recruiting trail. There are not any current Ducks who played for Cristobal in Eugene but it would give Lanning a chance to beat the coach who he replaced. Cristobal left Oregon for a deeply personal homecoming at Miami, his alma mater and the program where he won two national championships as a player.
Cristobal coached Oregon from 2017-21, winning two Pac-12 championships and a Rose Bowl before leaving to coach Miami, his alma mater. Lanning was hired to replace him and has since elevated the Ducks into a consistent College Football Playoff contender.
Dan Lanning’s National Championship Comments
Lanning did make notable comments about the National Championship at Big Ten Media Days.
“We’re close,” Lanning told On3 at Big Ten Media Days. “I know Indiana’s an outlier and they’ve done an unbelievable job, but it takes time, man, to build something really special.”
“It takes time. It’s hard. It’s hard to build. There’s, what, four active coaches that have won national championships? We’re close. We got to win the last one. We got to play better, and certainly there’s no excuses from us. We just got to continue to improve,” Lanning continued.
Oregon enters the 2026 season with lofty expectations with much thanks to the return of quarterback Dante Moore, wide receiver Evan Stewart, center Iapani “Poncho” Laloulu, and the entire starting defensive line.
The Ducks reached the national championship game in 2010 and 2014 and have finished No. 2 in the polls three times this century. Remarkably, Oregon hasn’t lost to a team that failed to reach the national title game since its late-season loss to Oregon State in 2022.
Is the 2026 season the year the Ducks break through? Palmer’s bracket would be a dream scenario for Oregon fans.
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