Entering the 2026 season, the Oregon Ducks were ranked No. 2 in the preseason AP poll and among the betting favorites to win the national championship. They sported an estimated $50 million roster and had as many as seven potential draftees return to the roster to make a run at the title. Four- and five-stars were all across the roster, complete with a shrewd job of transfer portal additions by head coach Dan Lanning and his staff.
Despite a blowout loss to the Indiana Hoosiers in the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal, the arrow appeared to be pointing up for Oregon as they vied for their first national title in program history.
Things have not gone according to plan through five games. The Ducks shakily won in Week 1 against Boise State
before dropping a game against Oklahoma State. Two impressive outings against Portland State and USC followed, putting Oregon back in the national title picture.
Then, the Ducks put forth an atrocity of a performance on offense against UCLA in Week 6, falling to 3-2. The same verb can be used for their national title odds, as they went into the week with a +2200 spot, the ninth-highest odds in college football.
But after dropping their second game of the season, Oregon now has the 16th-highest odds at a whopping +8000. That mark is tied with UCLA (+8000) and behind two Big Ten squads in Indiana (+1000) and Ohio State (+350). The Buckeyes have the highest odds in all of college football.
Considering the way the season has gone with two losses before mid-October, it's worth taking a look at Oregon's odds of even making the CFP. They have the 28th-highest odds of making the 12-team field, falling behind the likes of USC (+500), Iowa (+390), UCLA (+150), Indiana (-650) and Ohio State (-900). Also of note, the Ducks land behind two non-conference opponents in Oklahoma State (+550) and Boise State (+145).
Kentucky, coached by former offensive coordinator Will Stein and now ranked 15th in the latest AP poll, has +460 odds of making the CFP — an absolutely wild proposition if you told someone six weeks ago that they'd have better odds than Oregon.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon Ducks' national title, CFP odds falter after loss to UCLA
