Let’s be clear right off the top: Oregon football is a quality program. Dan Lanning is doing things most other coaches aren’t. He has back-to-back playoff appearances. He has won a Big Ten championship. He recruits really well. He uses the transfer portal well. He builds a sound, healthy culture. Guys want to play for him. He’s a genuinely good coach. Yet, as Bob Chesney of UCLA and others study the Ducks’ 34-point loss to Indiana and Curt Cignetti in the CFP semifinals at the Peach Bowl, one thing should be clear: Oregon has set a standard which, while undeniably high, is reachable.
Oregon won 13 games this season and lost to only one team, Indiana (twice). Yet, the Ducks beat James Madison in the playoff. It’s not as though they beat a heavyweight team. Texas Tech’s offense was awful. Oregon played a mediocre overall game and still won comfortably. UO’s opponents helped the Ducks. USC and Lincoln Riley sure did, committing tons of mistakes in a very sloppy game won 42-27 by Oregon.
UO barely scraped by Iowa 18-16. Its offense struggled at home versus Wisconsin. This was not a juggernaut. This was not an Oregon team which won games convincingly against quality opposition. The Ducks scored 69 points against Oklahoma State, but OSU was one of the worst Power Four teams in America in 2025, arguably the worst.
Oregon benefited from a lot of its opponents being ordinary. If UCLA and Bob Chesney can elevate themselves several notches above that standard, a Bruin renaissance might be closer than many experts think. There is a lot of parity in college football. If Bob Chesney has the players and the strategic answers, UCLA can engineer a surprisingly quick transformation — maybe not at Curt Cignetti’s level, but certainly Oregon’s.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: If Oregon is the 3rd-best team in the Big Ten, UCLA can get there
Reporting by Matt Zemek, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
