Oregon head coach Dan Lanning's words immediately came back to bite him in awful loss to UCLA

This was supposed to be the year.

The Oregon Ducks started the 2026 college football season as a consensus top-five team under head coach Dan Lanning.

They brought back Dante Moore and added Dylan Raiola, a former starter at Nebraska, as a backup quarterback.

They had a highly-paid roster full of former top recruits, along with impactful transfer portal additions.

They were coming off back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances with a combined 26-3 record across the regular and postseason in 2024-2025.

Some suggested it was the best team Oregon's ever had.

Almost immediately, however, the Ducks started taking on water.

Boise State nearly pulled off the upset in Eugene in week one.

Then Oklahoma State finished their upset bid in week two behind a dominant offensive performance.

DAN LANNING BLASTS USC AFTER OREGON'S WIN, AS LINCOLN RILEY OFFICIALLY ENTERS HOT SEAT IN LA After an 84-0 shellacking of Portland State, the Ducks went into Los Angeles for a pivotal game against USC at the Coliseum and finally seemed to turn the corner.

When Moore left the game after an awful hit from a USC linebacker, Raiola stepped up and looked even better.

Moore went 19-25 for 289 yards and two touchdowns, helping secure a 41-27 win to seemingly save Oregon's season.

Lanning took the opportunity after the win to make a statement about the Ducks' program and where their focus lies.

"I guess if you're interested in winning football games and you're from this area, you should go to Oregon," Lanning said, referring to high school players from the Los Angeles and Southern California area.