How do you find problems in a season in which a team rarely stepped wrong? How does one even begin to analyse, but to say that the season was a major success?  In fact, this was only the second time in Oregon’s whole program history that they have gone undefeated. Plus, they had Dillon Gabriel, a Heisman nominee who just lit up the scene whenever he played. The only thing that can be said is that Oregon’s loss against Ohio State was unfortunate. Avoidable? Yes. But it’s not the end of the world. Oregon is now a force to be reckoned with and expectations are that the Ducks will be doing the same year after year under Dan Lanning’s tutelage. However, there are some things they still have to be wary of.

Oregon has lost some of the major pieces of their offense and defense to the NFL. Attrition through the portal may not be that big an issue but replacing proven veterans will be crucial going forward. Dillon Gabriel’s passing and game prowess will surely be missed. Then there is Jordan James, who had 1,267 rushing and 209 receiving yards in a season, which was his best ever. Jeffrey Bassa’s experience will create a hole in the linebacker department and a tank like Jordan Burch’s would not be easy to find. Still, Oregon has some prospects to look forward to.

The first and foremost player who has some massive shoes to fill is undoubtedly Dante Moore. The previous year’s sophomore QB will have a lot on his plate and would surely have to take a huge step in order to fit in Oregon’s offense. In 2023, he did have 1,610 passing yards at a 53.1% completion rate, but that doesn’t quite scream ‘world-class.’ Dan Lanning, however, seems not to be worried and says there are positive signs in the player that are looking quite optimistic.

Lanning was asked in a press conference about how he would approach training Dante Moore for the upcoming season. “I think you’re always coaching right and I think you know within the play and on the practice field when the balls snaps they got to solve problems right; and then in between that’s your opportunity to coach. But the great players want feedback and great players want to know how they can get better.”

Dan Lanning has a plethora of talented coaches to execute just that and make Dante Moore a world-class player. He sure has the talent, but he just needs proper execution in different areas, specifically rushing. Will Stein, in that regard, fits perfectly for Dante Moore; he has the required experience and temperament to do just that. He is young and still has the knack for building that chemistry between players. He prioritizes attacking offenses with RPO situations, so rushing would be one area where Dante Moore would certainly get help from him. And why would it not? After squeezing out the best from Bo Nix and making Gabriel the world-class QB, the job shouldn’t be that hard for the man.

Oregon’s playoff struggles a matter of luck or desire?

We all can agree that Oregon’s fate in the 2024 playoff can be dubbed as quite ‘unlucky’. Although, in football and in sports in general, luck rarely has anything to do with it, and it all boils down to that last-minute determination and grit every player can squeeze out of themselves. Oregon’s playoff woes could also point toward a similar problem of mentality and composure. Dann Lanning expanded on the issue.

“Every day we walk out here and we learn, we grow. You’ve gotta learn from wins, and you’ve gotta learn from losses. We certainly learned from that one. But this is a new season. That has no impact on our next season. All of the wins we had last year? They have absolutely no impact on this next season, either. So it’s really about focusing on what’s next and continuing to improve…I think life is all about experiences“.

What Dan Lanning actually wants from his players is to get at least 1% better game after game. Building team cohesion and learning from mistakes that kept them out of greater glories. The major onus for the team will be to forget about the Ohio State loss and focus on the project forward. Lanning has all the requisite things to do just that.

He has roped in several high-profile players from transfers and through recruitment. So much so that his class of 2025 currently ranks 4th nationally and 1st in the Big 10. True Freshman players like Trey McNutt (S), Dorian Brew (CB), and Ziyare Addison will have an onus to make that transition. Transfers like Makhi Hughes (RB) from Tulane and Isaiah World (OT) from Nevada will carry forward the Oregon legacy that players like Dillon Gabriel and Jordan James created in the previous season.