The rat race for the upcoming college football title has started. Everyone wants to be at the top of the game. This time, the burden is not only on the players but also on the mentors. With the new season kicking in Dan Lanning is getting a constant reminder of last year’s loss.

Dan Lanning’s Oregon and Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama are poised to compete for Big Ten and SEC titles and in the College Football Playoffs. And the old rivals may cross paths again. In the 2023 season, Oregon and Washington were both ranked within the top ten in the AP Poll for the first time, setting up a matchup between the two teams. The match was in the Husky Stadium, where Washington defeated Oregon, resulting in a disheartening loss. It will be interesting to see if it’s a case of history repeating itself or if there will be a completely unexpected outcome. However, Josh Pate has his own take on the situation – especially with Kalen DeBoer in the picture. 

An early warning for the Oregon Ducks

On the August 18th episode of Late Kick with Josh Pate, Host Josh while replying to a viewer question about who wins the National championship first Kalen DeBoer or Dan Lanning took a dig at Dan saying “Lanning’s got Oregon rolling, but DeBoer doesn’t have to rebuild Alabama” Nothing far from the truth, even after losing players like Caleb DS, they are in a strong position holding in this year’s AP poll. Josh says “Unlike some other places where you have a big-time head coach and then it’s an unknown that follows him, there’s nothing unknown about Kalen DeBoer”. We know what he did for Washington and Sioux Falls and we also know what he is doing for Alabama in terms of team alignment.

Josh didn’t just stop at that, he further added how he felt about the team formation, having QB Jalen Milroe or offensive guard Tyler Booker, “I think DeBoer’s got a top-10 staff right now, and I would not quite qualify Oregon as having a top-10 staff when we consider the support staff structure as well”. Kalen proves efficiently why he was the first choice for Alabama, Pete’ sarcastic comment on his last year’s experience while supporting the Ducks definitely says a lot about which side he is on this time, “I was at both games last year, I picked Lanning and Oregon to beat DeBoer and Washington, and then I ended up with just egg all over my face.” Well, as funny as it seems, it surely puts a lot of pressure on Dan Lanning for the playoffs.

Is it going to be Dan vs Kalen again?

Dan Lanning’s Oregon Ducks could be in a tough spot against Kalen DeBoer’s Crimson Tides. Kalen holds a 5-0 record against Lanning and Sarkisian, beating his team once in 2022 and twice in 2023, and defeating Texas once in the Alamo Bowl and College Football Playoff. DeBoer’s final win against Lanning came in the Pac-12 Championship, where his team got a spot in the College Football Playoff. The Huskies came out as winners again, with 34-31, and earned the No. 2 seed in the CFP. 

With Alabama entering a new season of football under their new coach, Kalen DeBoer is trying to get together a strong offensive line by getting former Washington Huskies center Parker Brailsford, Oregon’s also in a head-to-head competition getting the nation’s No. 1 transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel, surrounded by great receivers and a strong attack. Weeks before the match, FPI predicted 10.8 wins for Oregon, which is the most wins for any team in the nation.

There is no harm in saying that the game fever is on. Even if DeBoer holds definite wins against Lanning, there is still a lot of room for improvement, especially in offense. It’s going to be a charged-up match with strong players fighting for their team. Whom are you supporting? Do let us know in the comments.