Pressure Mounts on Dan Lanning as Past Scars Resurface After His Bold B1G Stance Turned Heads

Winning cures all, but losing leaves scars that don’t fade overnight. On the face of it, Dan Lanning‘s position is enviable: Oregon Duck‘s financial strength, three highly successful seasons, and an undefeated 2024 playoff run made him a prime candidate for a major off-season. Yet, the defeat against Ohio State remains a painful memory, ending their title aspirations and fueling the criticism that Oregon cannot perform in high-stakes games. Now, with his bold Big Ten stance drawing attention, the pressure to deliver has only intensified.

Now, believe it or not, Oregon does have a thing for messing up in their big moments. And we can’t blame Dan Lanning for that. Yes, this past season they went flat against the Ohio State Buckeyes in their championship run, but what about the earlier losses? For instance, the 2010 BCS National Championship loss to Auburn or the 2014 CFP National Championship loss to Ohio State. But now it’s all his responsibility to break this cycle and prove that Oregon can win a national title. Even On3’s J.D. PicKell feels the same about Lanning’s situation.

“Everyone’s going to jump on the idea of, well hey, just optically remember Oregon getting to these big spots and falling flat. That’s just kind of who Oregon is in our minds, and we don’t really care too much about who the head coach is. But that uniform, that logo—it’s cursed. I don’t know why we do this in college football; I really don’t. Dan Lanning wasn’t around for the loss of the national title game when they lost to Ohio State… That’s not Dan Lanning’s situation—he has to deal with it now,” PicKell said. But let’s not forget that for the majority of the regular season last year, the Ducks looked like the best team in the country.

Look, it’s evident that Dan Lanning’s team couldn’t really keep their game going against Ohio State. Their offense fell short, scoring just once before halftime, whereas the Bucks were at 34 points by then. But it’s the same team that made them sweat in the regular season and earned victory. Even Coach Lanning wasn’t happy with how things took a nasty turn in their quarterfinal game, as he said, “We didn’t have the ability to stop them, and we didn’t have the ability to get something going on offense. We haven’t faced a lot of moments like that this season. They were clicking on all cylinders.” But this season might be different for them!

Oregon faced some tough challenges last season, but the upcoming season looks much more promising. Dan Lanning and the Ducks have a great opportunity to turn things around, and it all starts with their 2025 schedule. Unlike last year’s difficult schedule, this one provides a smoother path to the playoffs.

While they will have some challenging away games at Penn State and Washington, their home games against Indiana and Wisconsin are more manageable. Overall, this schedule gives them a better chance at making a serious run. Even if they finish 10-2 and miss the Big Ten title game, they could still make it to the playoffs, thanks to the expanded 12-team format. They wouldn’t need a conference championship to qualify, but they would enter the playoffs without a bye week. Despite this, they still have a shot at the national title. But how?

Dan Lanning’s bold Big 10 revelation

Well, replicating the dominance of Oregon’s 2024 season won’t be easy for Lanning. Nevertheless, with a relatively manageable schedule, going undefeated at 12-0 is not out of the question. Despite this possibility, Oregon insider Spencer McLaughlin urges caution. He doesn’t believe that winning a national championship or even a Big Ten title should be expected. His goal is simply for the team to make it to the playoffs.

As he says, “I don’t want to legitimately talk myself into putting a national championship expectation on this 2025 team. Even in the context of a Big 10 Championship, I don’t have the expectation. The only expectation I have for Oregon year in and year out is a baseline standard of success, 10 wins to make the playoff—that’s a successful season.” His reasoning? The playoff format itself.

Last season, all the teams that had a bye week in the expanded 12-team playoffs, including Oregon, were eliminated. Even powerhouse programs like Georgia and Arizona State fell short. McLaughlin’s perspective suggests that not having a bye week might actually benefit Oregon, giving them momentum instead of an early exit. If luck plays a role, as some Oregon fans hope, skipping the bye week could be the best-case scenario.

However, for now, Dan Lanning has bigger concerns than playoff seeding. His star quarterback, Dillon Gabriel, had an incredible season but is no longer with the team. Furthermore, Oregon’s defense is losing key players like Jordan Burch, Jabbar Muhammad, Nikko Reed, and others to the NFL. The receiving corps is also facing changes with the departures of Tez Johnson and Traeshon Holden. With all these expectations, it remains to be seen if things will work out as planned for Oregon.