Every year might as well be “the year” for about a quarter of all Power 5 schools. 

Whether it be the season that a newer coach finally puts it all together, time to beat a bitter rival, or, for some like Oregon, time to win a national championship, every fan base has some delusion and mystery mixed into their season. 

The worst thing a fan base can be is checked out, after all. 

Oregon fans are a long way from that point, with head coach Dan Lanning’s group an impressive 7-1 (4-1 in Big Ten play). Everything the Ducks can hope to accomplish is straight ahead of them. 

“It’s certainly an exciting time,” Eugene resident Samuel Allen said ahead of Oregon’s matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes on Nov. 8. “The Ducks are in it, right? That’s all you can hope for.”

The excitement and surprise that came with last year’s surge to an undefeated regular season and a No.1 ranking heading into the College Football Playoff seems to be a little more muted within the group of ten Duck fans and Lane County residents The Daily Emerald interviewed for this story. 

Most agreed that they have become used to Oregon being “really good” rather quickly, with Mike Reichert adding that the Ducks “have been in and out of being elite since the 2010s (and that) I guess this is just a longer version of that, with more money involved.” 

Unsurprisingly, the fans were all extraordinarily pleased with the job head coach Dan Lanning — 42-7 lifetime at Oregon — has done. They, too, were happy with the job quarterback Dante Moore has done during his time in Eugene, with most adding that the team’s long-term success hinges on the signal-caller electing to come back to school next season.

“He’s been really good,” Sarah Whitcomb said. “Obviously Indiana happened, but everyone kind of sucked that game… he’s been as good as Bo (Nix) and I think better than last year’s quarterback.” 

Sean Lubbock, a self-described “tapped in” fan, showed concern about the offense’s firepower both now and when offensive coordinator Will Stein likely leaves in the future to take a head coaching job. 

“I mean, it’s been pretty mediocre for the most part offensively,” Lubbock said. “It feels like we used to be able to take the top off of defenses a little better last year, like in the first Ohio State game. Still, Stein is the guy, and it’ll be hard to replace him next year and still be hoping to win automatically.” 

Only 20% of fans said they expect the Ducks to win a national championship this season, with most citing the Indiana loss or “history” as their reason for being cautious with their optimism. 

Nearly everyone interviewed, however, said that they are ecstatic with the program’s progress and expect a national championship within the next five or so years. 

There are, ultimately, far worse positions for a fourth-year head coach to be than ranked No. 6 in the nation with a top-five recruiting class coming in next season. 

“Gosh, you see with Penn State, they fired their head coach and paid him all that money to leave… feels like Oregon is nowhere near that,”  Mary Mayers said. 

Oregon is indeed far from that position, but time will tell if this is the year that so many fans hope it to be. 

“We love our Ducks,” Allen said. “Whether it be this year or next, they’ve got to get it done for us.” 

Of course, these are only some of the opinions in the Ducks’ stratosphere, but Oregon heads into the pivotal part of the regular season with ample community optimism surrounding the team.