by Kyle Golik
Welcome to the Left Coast, often overlooked by the East Coast, and more importantly known for the longest time for niche products like “Pac-12 After Dark” and not the actual great football it produces.
Last season, the nation got a giant wake up call when the “Cascade Clash” rivals Oregon and Washington put on classics in two encounters including the Pac-12’s swan song. In a lot of ways, the crushing defeats Oregon’s Dan Lanning endured to Washington’s Kalen DeBoer, displayed two things. One was the growth Lanning has gone through as a head coach, the other was demonstrating that Lanning could go toe-to-toe with the nation’s elite.
When the “Godfather of Recruiting” Mike Farrell did his five coaches who are poised to breakout, he named Lanning. Farrell said this in his recent piece:
“Maybe he’s already broken through? But to me he’s about to take the next step. The two losses to Washington and missing the playoff means he’s still not at the elite level he should be, but it’s coming. He’s a great coach and Oregon is a sleeping giant.”
Farrell recognized the potential of Oregon, and it is a media cliche to classify the Ducks as a sleeping giant. To me, that cliche is ignorance at its finest.
Grant you, Southern California was the only Pac-12 program in the 21st Century to win the national championship, but the Trojans have had pretty much forgettable runs since Vince Young ended the Trojans dynasty in the Rose Bowl.
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Washington went to the College Football Playoff twice and played in last season’s national championship but the Huskies had hit rock bottom a few times in between the lofty peaks they attained. I don’t think Husky fans need to be reminded of how Rick Neuheisel lacked discipline, the “Seven-Win Steve” era, Tyrone Willingham error, or even the debacle that was Jimmy Lake.
Oregon has been arguably the most consistent Pac-12 team throughout the 21st Century, appearing in two national championship games, eight Pac-12 conference championships, and 10 New Year’s Six bowl games this century.
While Oregon had few pitfalls, the program is leveraging Phil Knight’s Nike money and making moves. When Lanning appeared to be contemplating departing Oregon, he made a video recruiting for Oregon in which he announced he was staying.
Since Oregon’s debacle in Lanning’s first game against Georgia, where the Bulldogs beat the Ducks 49-3, Lanning is 22-4 overall as a head coach. In each of his losses, there was a growing experience for Lanning where either DeBoer or Jonathan Smith (when Oregon State defeated Oregon in 2022) were patient and used Lanning’s aggressive nature against him to beat him.
What Lanning has displayed throughout his first two seasons in Eugene is a calculated aggressive nature in critical moments that he learned watching while on staff under Alabama’s Nick Saban and Georgia’s Kirby Smart. There isn’t a situation that makes Lanning afraid, he isn’t afraid to fail and it shows. This short-term memory Lanning possesses is something coaches spend their entire careers developing, with Lanning in his infancy bodes well for the future.
The Ducks have been aggressive in recruiting and leveraging the transfer portal for holes on the roster. The size and athleticism on the offensive and defensive lines Oregon has is reminiscent of SEC lines Lanning coached at Alabama and Georgia.
It is easy to point to the Washington defeats that cost Oregon a chance for a College Football Playoff spot as to why Lanning isn’t elite, but the view is narrow. The litmus test for Oregon will be when Ohio State visits Autzen Stadium October 12, in what should be a preview of the Big Ten Championship Game.
I felt Lanning broke through last season, to go toe-to-toe with DeBoer in two absolute classics and his “Play for Clicks” viral moment before Oregon’s demolition of Deion Sanders’ Colorado is when Lanning broke through. Now it is time to see if Lanning truly belongs amongst the land of the elite or his breakthrough was premature.
