Each college football season is an entity all its own and one season has very little effect on the next season and so on. Before the 2025 season even began, most thought the OregonDucks were still a season away from doing something really special in Eugene.

But then the season developed and went on and the Ducks showed that they were perhaps ready to do something special now and not have to wait a year. Quarterback Dante Moore looked like a veteran and played like it. The defense gelled quicker than expected and was one of the best units in the country.

However, the preseason speculation might have been correct all along, as the Ducks just couldn’t get over that hump called Indiana. Now, 2026 is here, and Oregon’s time might be now, and head coach Dan Lanning says what happened in 2025 won’t be overlooked or forgotten.

Just the opposite.

“You’ve got a group of guys who are coming back who are hungry. We’ve all got a little sour taste in our mouth, which is awesome when the only success is measured by what can we do and how does this look at the end of the season,” he said on Wednesday during the Ducks’ National Signing Day event.

“You’ve got a motivated team. You’ve got a bunch of guys who want to get better. I think there isn’t an absence of leadership with this group. We’ve got a bunch of guys coming back who are leaders, who can step up and continue to develop that.”

Those “bunch of guys” who are coming back received a huge boost of confidence when their quarterback announced he would indeed return to Eugene in hopes of leading the Ducks to their first-ever national championship on the gridiron. That little announcement turned Oregon from one of the very good teams out there to one of the favorites to bring the title home.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon Duck veterans bring ‘sour taste’ to 2026 after last season