We are 3 weeks from Duck football!

A new season is fast approaching and I've been wondering all this off season:

What's the real reason for the last 2 seasons ending in such huge losses.

13 wins each season. Great recruiting.

Exciting teams. Top rated offensive line 3 years in a row. More players drafted each year. No problems with the law( well, nothing too major). Three assistants to head coaches. All that, and then 2 major disappointments.

What have I got to complain about?!

So please help me understand, what is the reason for these 2nd time around thrashings. Is it coaching? Experience? Is it just one of those things?

Opinion:

• second loss to Ohio State - poor preparation by coaches, it appeared the Ducks staff expected a repeat of the earlier game and that Ohio State would not make adjustments on offense or defense. It's like the coaches only watched film of the first game.

• second loss to Indiana - the loss of Ducks running back experience has not received the attention it deserved, both for carries and blocking. Then, when the deficit reached 21-7, I think the whole team - offense and defense - panicked, including a befuddled coaching staff.

• both - playing from behind is apparently not Lanning's forte.

Dan L, you are a great poster and member of this forum, so I do not want to give you the wrong impression. I cannot go into those games again…not anything related to you and your honest question, but due to MY issues and where my head is at this time.

Those have been analyzed and discussed here extensively, and this is a different team in 2026—one that has the highest potential on both sides of the ball. I don’t want to go through the past negative again; I want to focus on the excitement of this team and the upcoming games.

Perhaps others here can offer their perspectives…

Better "TEAMS" won.

4 hours ago, Charles Fischer said:

Dan L, you are a great poster and member of this forum, so I do not want to give you the wrong impression. I cannot go into those games again…not anything related to you and your honest question, but due to MY issues and where my head is at this time.

Those have been analyzed and discussed here extensively, and this is a different team in 2026—one that has the highest potential on both sides of the ball. I don’t want to go through the past negative again; I want to focus on the excitement of this team and the upcoming games.

Perhaps others here can offer their perspectives…

Can you direct me to a few past articles? I didn't read much at first cuz I was too disappointed.

I agree this is a different team this year with a very high ceiling which I'm very excited about.

Personally, I think evenly matched teams sometimes get the hot hand and like in baseball, lose 10-1 in the first game and come back and win 12-3 in the next game.

I'm hoping this year is our game 2!

At the bottom and the top of the site are page numbers; you welcome to go back and find, and then scroll through the two weeks after each game and see what was written by OBD members, and you will find links provided to those analysis articles also in the two weeks after the games.

In two seasons of a 12-team PO, Kirby Smart is 0-2.

The fault? Notre Dame and Ole Miss.

Chip Kelly took Tosh Lupoi to the woodshed. Chip still has a superior football mind regardless of some of the head coaching challenges.

This year, outside of the catastrophic, its all on Lanning. We will truly see his coaching abilities. If he gets blown up for a 3rd time in the PO? Then what?

Dan Lanning was on Rich Eisen recently and was asked about this. He carefully offered some insights while stressing that he was not making excuses. AgaInst OSU, he reminded us that the Ducks sat for 25 days after playing in the B1G Championship, while OSU played the week before against Tennessee.

Last year, running back room devastated, O line injuries compounding and 2 checked out assistants due to open transfer portal while the season was still going on. This context matters to some extent, I'll eave it to each to form their own judgments.

Win lose or draw, I love my Ducks. It hurts to see them lose the last game of the season, especially after beating their slate of opponents in convincing fashion.

But you know what? MOST CFB teams lose their last game of the season . Half of those who don’t make the playoffs, and all but one of those who do. We are not in bad company.

I learned long ago that blame solves nothing. I trust DL to go back to the drawing board, make some adjustments and deliver to us fans the best team these kids are capable of being.

I believe DL and OBD will deliver us a Natty at some point under DL, possibly more. There is also the possibility we will always be bridesmaids and never the bride.

As fans we need to deal with it. Blaming anyone or anything for the final loss solves nothing. Never did, never will.

4 hours ago, Log Haulin said:

Chip Kelly took Tosh Lupoi to the woodshed. Chip still has a superior football mind regardless of some of the head coaching challenges.

This year, outside of the catastrophic, it's all on Lanning. We will truly see his coaching abilities. If he gets blown up for a 3rd time in the PO? Then what?

Lanning's record in 2 years of a 12-team PO is 2-2. As noted above, Kirby Smart is 0-2.

Every conference and ND agreed that the seeding format in 2024-25 that had Boise State as the 3rd seed was FUBAR. Under today's seeding of teams as ranked, Oregon's Rose Bowl opponent would have been the winner of Boise State at Indiana, not eventual champ Ohio State.

Eight teams have had 1st-round playoff byes. The collective record in 2nd-round games is 1-7.

As Curt Cignetti noted, Indiana caught Oregon at a good time. It wasn't expected, but Oregon came off a very physical game vs the Texas Tech defense, and Bama quit in the Rose Bowl. And the game should have been called the Hoosier Bowl and not the Peach Bowl.

515 miles from Bloomington to Atlanta. 2619 miles from Eugene, with Oregon coming off of a game in Miami.

It also didn't help that Dan's OC and DC were serving two masters.

Dan and friends were outcoached by experienced coaches who won championships after the beatdown of OBD, aided by the Buckeyes and Hoosiers having some 'pretty good' players on the field.

This is Dan's 5th year at the helm. Smart and Day won their titles in year six. The advantage this season is that if Oregon makes it to the title game, it will be played in Las Vegas, and the hometown team, UNLV, will not be the opponent. Ducks fans will flock to Allegiant Field.

However, Dan will be the first to acknowledge the blowout losses, and no one will work harder to rectify the problem.

Keep the faith!

13 hours ago, DanLduck said:

Can you direct me to a few past articles? I didn't read much at first cuz I was too disappointed.

I agree this is a different team this year with a very high ceiling which I'm very excited about.

I wrote on recently that kinda goes into some of this stuff. But of bad luck and a bit of unpreparedness.

Just How Close are the Ducks From a Championship?

During Big Ten Media Days Oregon Head Coach Dan Lanning said the Ducks are close to winning it all but is this just fan service or are the Ducks really that close to winning it all?

54 minutes ago, PittDuck said:

Win lose or draw, I love my Ducks. It hurts to see them lose the last game of the season, especially after beating their slate of opponents in convincing fashion.

But you know what? MOST CFB teams lose their last game of the season . Half of those who don’t make the playoffs, and all but one of those who do. We are not in bad company.

I learned long ago that blame solves nothing. I trust DL to go back to the drawing board, make some adjustments and deliver to us fans the best team these kids are capable of being.

I believe DL and OBD will deliver us a Natty at some point under DL, possibly more. There is also the possibility we will always be bridesmaids and never the bride.

As fans we need to deal with it. Blaming anyone or anything for the final loss solves nothing. Never did, never will.

Perfectly stated, my thoughts exactly!!!

Thanks all for your insights. Some good stuff here.

I also do not believe blame is the correct word (great click bait though-no shade against you-it naturally piques our curiosity).

I will always support Dan Lanning. Despite my "distaste" for some of the strategy moves I have seen. I have done quite a bit of study about OBD and other elite teams. There are some very justifiable reasons for what Lanning has schemed. There also are legitimate reasons for staying the course.

It is VERY, VERY difficult to adjust to conditions on the ground in a game. Some may even accuse coaches of panicking if they do so- a coach "can't win" no matter what he does-fans are fickle. Which is why I loved it when Lanning put on the FEBU shirt after taking down Ohio State in Eugene.

We all want to see OBD win the big ones. I am very spoiled, because I want to see obliteration. Most especially against Ohio State's fan base. We got to USC and the Fuskies-Ohio State in particular is on my radar. Simply because that fan base is horrible. They excoriated Ryan Day despite the guy's effort (and results) to improve the program damn near every year. Not to mention their outright arrogance (we have it to, as well as way too many fan bases in college football).

What does that have to do with where OBD are and who is to blame? There simply are too many variables for a coach to control. Indiana really put the pedal to the metal last year and they STILL almost lost their title. It would have been heartbreaking to see them lose had Carson Beck threw his pass 4 to 5 yards deeper. After all the dominance they displayed, and their uncanny ability to execute so well under pressure all year. An illegal procedure penalty and a defensive penalty almost cost Indiana a title. Two simple mistakes almost tanked one of the most unbelievable stories ever.

So what Lanning got blown out twice. Do you think he is contemplating his own blowouts? Do you think he is thinking outside the box to get his title(2)? And guess what-if we were in his shoes-oh boy guess how much nonsense we would have to put up with. I knew Casey Brooks-Rich Brooks' daughter. She used to tell me many a horror story of what fans put her and her father through. Brooks kept on chuggin and pluggin. Which is exactly what Lanning will do.

I BELIEVE LANNING BRINGS US A TITLE. He is too smart, too determined and too dedicated to furthering the goals of everyone in his program. Those are ingredients that lend to the ultimate success. Sometimes you gotta lose to learn how to win.

Both playoff loses had similar starts that immediately shifted momentum before you even sat down in your chair. Against tOSU. two DBs collide as a receiver then trots down field for a quick TD. Against Indy, a first play pick six brings the same result. One side shows up ready to play while the other stumbles out of the gate.

To quote Hudson in Aliens, "Game over man. Game over."

Both games soon spiraled out of control as one team settled in to their groove while the other lost composer. Every other game Lanning has lost since UGA has come down to the wire. I think we see a matured Lanning this year as he will now be in year five as a head coach. I think this year is the year that the team gets it done. Can't wait for the season to start.

11 hours ago, Mike West said:

I also do not believe blame is the correct word (great click bait though-no shade against you-it naturally piques our curiosity).

I will always support Dan Lanning. Despite my "distaste" for some of the strategy moves I have seen. I have done quite a bit of study about OBD and other elite teams. There are some very justifiable reasons for what Lanning has schemed. There also are legitimate reasons for staying the course.

It is VERY, VERY difficult to adjust to conditions on the ground in a game. Some may even accuse coaches of panicking if they do so- a coach "can't win" no matter what he does-fans are fickle. Which is why I loved it when Lanning put on the FEBU shirt after taking down Ohio State in Eugene.

We all want to see OBD win the big ones. I am very spoiled, because I want to see obliteration. Most especially against Ohio State's fan base. We got to USC and the Fuskies-Ohio State in particular is on my radar. Simply because that fan base is horrible. They excoriated Ryan Day despite the guy's effort (and results) to improve the program damn near every year. Not to mention their outright arrogance (we have it to, as well as way too many fan bases in college football).

What does that have to do with where OBD are and who is to blame? There simply are too many variables for a coach to control. Indiana really put the pedal to the metal last year and they STILL almost lost their title. It would have been heartbreaking to see them lose had Carson Beck threw his pass 4 to 5 yards deeper. After all the dominance they displayed, and their uncanny ability to execute so well under pressure all year. An illegal procedure penalty and a defensive penalty almost cost Indiana a title. Two simple mistakes almost tanked one of the most unbelievable stories ever.

So what Lanning got blown out twice. Do you think he is contemplating his own blowouts? Do you think he is thinking outside the box to get his title(2)? And guess what-if we were in his shoes-oh boy guess how much nonsense we would have to put up with. I knew Casey Brooks-Rich Brooks' daughter. She used to tell me many a horror story of what fans put her and her father through. Brooks kept on chuggin and pluggin. Which is exactly what Lanning will do.

I BELIEVE LANNING BRINGS US A TITLE. He is too smart, too determined and too dedicated to furthering the goals of everyone in his program. Those are ingredients that lend to the ultimate success. Sometimes you gotta lose to learn how to win.

For what it's worth, I think the Ducks won the 2nd half in both games. So maybe some adjustments were made.

I too am a firm believer in our head coach. Since day 1. After all, he has a great name and the right initials.