Oregon’s new head coach Dan Lanning knows what it feels like to win having been a graduate assistant under Nick Sabin at Alabama the year they beat Clemson 45-40 for the national championship and again at Georgia after taking over for Defensive Coordinator Mel Tucker. In Lanning’s final year the Bull Dogs boasted the top defense in the nation, were undefeated during the regular season, and won the national title with wins over Michigan and Alabama. He is considered a top notch recruiter and developer of talent. While at Georgia they won three SEC East Divison Titles, reached back-to-back Allstate Sugar Bowls as well as the Peach Bowl and Orange Bowl. Having no head coaching experience, some say that hiring the 36 year old Lanning is a bold move.
College Football News puts it this way. “Oregon can have a high-octane offense, a nasty defense, and as it’s about to show off this year, it can have one of the most powerful offensive lines in college football. Make no mistake about it, there is no learning curve for the new guy. This has the potential to be one bad-ass physical team that should set the bar at nothing lower than a Pac-12 Championship and a massive season. It just has to watch out for Colorado.”
That last comment was some sarcasm aimed at what seems to be Oregon’s achilles heel over the last few years—beating the difficult teams but loosing to teams it shouldn’t lose to. Thanks to the largesse of Phil Knight of Nike fame who built their 145,000 square foot six story football facility years ago and a yearly endorsement deal that pays the program $2 to $2.5 million a year plus $5 to $6 million more in sports apparal, as far as the Ducks go, as College Football News puts it; “Talent is rolling into Eugene, money isn’t a problem, there are plenty of pretty little uniform changes, and overall, this is a super-cool program that’s perfectly positioned for the new world of college athletics and all the craziness that’s coming with it. So really, what’s missing? Oregon has to stop losing to teams it shouldn’t lose to.” Like they were quoted above; “It just has to watch out for Colorado.”
I guess they need to watch out for the likes of Georgia as well since they looked like they didn’t belong on the same field this past Saturday against last year’s national champion who had their way with the Ducks to the tune of 49-3. The Bull Dog’s Senior QB Stetson Bennett completed 80% of his passes for 368 yards and 2 TD’s with no interceptions in addition to rushing for another while Oregon’s Senior transfer from Auburn, Bo Nix, was 21-of-37 for 173 yards and 2 interceptions. As the AP recap on ESPN reminds us; “Bennett, the former walk-on who led a storybook run to Georgia’s first national title since 1980, returned for a sixth college season with a firm grip on the starting job after battling for playing time most of his career. Bennett picked up where he left off in last year’s College Football Playoff, when he was offensive MVP of both the semifinals and the title game victory over Alabama.” On the ground Oregon actually rushed for 8 more yards than Georgia but couldn’t get the ball into the end zone while the Bull Dogs rushed 25 times for 132 yards and 4 TD’s. Even Bennett’s backup was successful connecting on 5-of-6 for 71 yards a 1 TD.
Long way to go for the new coach. Next week they’re back at home to host Eastern Washington who was ranked No. 15 in the 2022 Athlon Sports Preseason Top 25 FCS Poll released on June 6th. The Ducks need to push this game against Georgia out of their heads or the Eagles could surprise them.