Lanning Wasn’t Having It After Playoff Victory
Oregon punched their ticket to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals with a 51-34 win over James Madison. The scoreboard shows a comfortable margin. Dan Lanning’s postgame press conference told a completely different story.
The Ducks’ head coach made one thing crystal clear: This team is nowhere near where it needs to be.
“We didn’t play our best football,” Lanning stated flatly. “We turned the ball over multiple times and we’ve got to play better on defense. It was like a tale of two halves. We played well in the first half but didn’t play well in the second. We can play so much better than that.”
Second-Half Collapse Has Coach Seeing Red
Oregon roared out to a commanding 34-6 halftime advantage. Then the wheels came off. James Madison clawed back, and suddenly a blowout looked shaky. That transformation had Lanning fuming.
“We started off hot,” he said. “In the second half, as a team, we didn’t play the way we needed to play. You have to find moments like that when you have a big lead, to be able to choke somebody out and we didn’t do that.”
Translation: His team let off the gas when they should’ve been stepping on throats. That’s not championship football, and Lanning knows it.
Rose Bowl Ghosts Still Haunt Eugene
Lanning admitted the Rose Bowl loss to Ohio State from last season continues to sting. But he believes this year’s squad has the mental toughness to avoid another collapse when the stakes get even higher.
“Getting better, period,” he emphasized. “Getting better. We got an opportunity to advance, and now we get an opportunity to improve.”
The message is loud and clear: Advancing isn’t enough. This team needs to evolve, fast.
Texas Tech Looms Large on New Year’s Day
Oregon now faces Texas Tech in the Capital One Orange Bowl on January 1st at noon ET. The Red Raiders are riding momentum and playing with house money. Linebacker Jacob Rodriguez has been an absolute wrecking ball, and quarterback Dante Moore will need to protect the football far better than he did against James Madison.
Lanning’s frustration might actually be exactly what this team needs. Complacency after a win is dangerous. Championship teams find problems even in victories.
The Ducks have two weeks to clean up the mess. Based on their coach’s tone, they better get to work immediately.
