Curt Cignetti defied all odds by leading the once-hapless Indiana Hoosiers to a College Football Playoff national championship victory.
Cignetti is one of four active head coaches to have won a national title, joining Dabo Swinney, Kirby Smart and Ryan Day. At least three of these four coaches appear primed for national championship runs in 2026, but a handful of coaches outside of their ranks feel confident about their chances at a national title run as well.
CBS Sports called its shot on which coach is set to have the best 2026 season. It named Oregon head coach Dan Lanning as its preseason coach of the year on Tuesday afternoon.
None of Lanning’s teams have won fewer than 10 games in a season
The Ducks have been remarkably consistent through Lanning’s previous four seasons as their head coach.
Oregon’s two lowest win totals under Lanning were in its final two seasons as a member of the Pac-12 conference, which was a strong league in its final two years as a power conference. Three of its five losses in Lanning’s first two seasons were to Washington, which was led by current Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer and featured Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback.
Since it joined the Big Ten, Oregon’s only regular-season slip-up was at home against Indiana in 2025. The Ducks finished the 2024 regular season undefeated and took down Penn State in order to clinch the No. 1 overall seed in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.
The Ducks are well-positioned for their first national championship victory
While Oregon has been a prominent force on the national stage in the last two decades, it has failed to take home a national title despite a handful of near misses.
The two College Football Playoff losses under Lanning have been particularly catastrophic. The Ducks fell 41-21 to Ohio State in the 2025 Rose Bowl and 56-22 to Indiana in the 2026 Peach Bowl, and they trailed by more than 30 points at different points in both losses.
The good news for Oregon is that much of what helped it reach the College Football Playoff last season is back for another round in 2026. One of college football’s premier starting quarterbacks, a potent young receiving corps and a multitude of starters across the defensive line and secondary all return for the Ducks.
The Ducks’ road game at Ohio State is the only immediate challenge that jumps out on their schedule. There are fringe Big Ten College Football Playoff contenders like USC, Michigan and Washington mixed in, but none of those programs have played Oregon within single digits the last two seasons.
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