Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks opened 2026 as national title contenders and the highest preseason AP Top 25 team in program history. One closer-than-expected home win later, they are no longer in the top five.
Voters dropped Oregon four spots, from No. 2 to No. 6, in the first regular-season Associated Press poll, released Tuesday ahead of Week 2.
The Ducks beat Boise State 34-27 at Autzen Stadium as roughly a 25-point favorite, a result that looked more like a grind than a statement. Georgia, Notre Dame, Texas and Indiana each moved up one place into the spots Oregon vacated. Ohio State remained a clear No. 1.
The numbers tell a mixed story. Oregon outgained the Broncos 497-274 and limited Boise State to 93 rushing yards. Quarterback Dante Moore threw for 378 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
Still, the Ducks needed a late fourth-quarter score to put the game away after trailing earlier and sitting tied heading into the final period. For a team that entered the year as a preseason favorite, style points mattered. Voters treated the win as a warning rather than a coronation.
That is how the AP poll often works in Week 1. Most ranked teams rolled through lesser opponents. LSU jumped three spots to No. 8 after a 51-10 rout of Clemson.
Michigan, by contrast, fell out of the Top 25 entirely after a controversial last-second win over Western Michigan. Oregon’s drop was the largest among teams that started the weekend inside the top five.
The Ducks still received three first-place votes and 1,422 points, just behind Indiana.
They remain firmly in the College Football Playoff conversation. They simply no longer sit on the short list of teams voters treat as the class of the sport.
Lanning has built a 48-8 record in four seasons in Eugene, with back-to-back 13-win campaigns and deep playoff runs. One imperfect opener does not erase that. It does, however, reset the conversation before a road trip to Oklahoma State on Saturday.
The Cowboys lost their opener. A clean, dominant win would give Oregon a chance to climb back toward the top five, especially with No. 1 Ohio State visiting No. 4 Texas in the weekend’s biggest game.
Rankings this early are a snapshot, not a verdict. For Oregon, the snapshot is clear: the Ducks are still very good, and voters want to see them look like it.
