Urban Meyer Sounds Alarm on Oregon After UCLA Disaster

Oregon suffered one of its worst losses of the Dan Lanning era last weekend, falling 17-15 to UCLA at Autzen Stadium.

The Ducks came in ranked No. 13 in the country and as heavy favorites, but their offense completely collapsed without starting quarterback Dante Moore, who was sidelined with a concussion.

Dylan Raiola, a former five-star prospect and starter at Nebraska, struggled mightily, completing just 6 of 19 passes for 43 yards and two interceptions, before third-stringer Brock Thomas took over. Thomas looked much better and even sparked a late run, but it still wasn't enough. Oregon finished with seven turnovers and went just one for 12 on third downs.

Speaking on a recent episode of "The Triple Option" podcast, former college coach Urban Meyer explained why he's very concerned about this Oregon team after what they showed in the UCLA game.

"I think they're cooked," Meyer said. "I watched Dylan Raiola. I watched the coach's copy of it. They're not playing very well right now ... When I see a Dan Lanning team play, I see an effort that is marginal, superhuman. I see people flying around the ball. I don't see that. I see fundamentals and ball security. And I don't see that. So, I don't know, something is going on there."

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Lanning has turned Oregon into a perennial contender since taking over as head coach in 2022. The Ducks went 13-1 in 2024, won the Big Ten championship, and earned the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. Last year, they put together another 13-win season and reached the playoff semifinals for a second straight year.

But this year already feels different. Despite entering the 2026 season with national championship expectations, the Ducks are now 3-2 and have been knocked out of the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2022.

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Oregon still has enough talent and time to get them back in the playoff race, especially if Moore returns healthy and can help stabilize the offense. But their margin for error has gotten much smaller. They next host Nebraska on Saturday before traveling to Illinois, hosting Northwestern, and then a brutal stretch of road games at Ohio State and Michigan State, as well as home matchups against Michigan and Washington to close out the regular season.