https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2026/09/05/why-oregon-football-fails-in-big-moments-dan-lanning-boise-state/91637416007/

Oh, boo-hoo.

Everybody is this way until they finally break through...and every SEC team can nearly blow a game without any bias against them.

This is a writer who was looking for something to write about, and found a topic that would go viral. Meanwhile....in the 3.1 seasons, Dan Lanning is now 39-0 against teams who were not in the National Championship game. That doesn't suck...

We'll get there!

Let's see how things turn out in November.

Every team sees a big jump between fame one and game two.

Additionally... Remember Penn State dominated their first few weeks last year. How'd that turn out for James Franklin?

Restraining myself from saying something regrettable to the author.

In 2014 Ohio State started the season with an unimpressive win over Navy and then lost to an unranked and eventual 7-6 Virginia Tech team. We all know how their season ended.

I sort of expect this from fans of other teams around the country. I'm not too familiar with this writer but I recognize the name. So, knows better, he is just serving up the hot takes.

He knows how long it took Kirby to break through at Georgia, how long it took Day to break through at Ohio State, the time frames for Saben and Swinney to win their first. He also knows, as a college football writer, that no FBS coach under 40 has won a National Championship since 1981.

He does. Which means he is passing on an attempt at a fair and nuanced argument for something that will attract more attention.

Totally seems to ignore Oregon beating both Ohio State and Penn State in 2024 and Penn State and Texas Tech in 2025. All big games at the time. I had a huntch so I checked and yes, leading up to the Oregon vs. Texas Tech playoff game, he indeed did say he didn't trust Oregon in a big game and predicted Texas Tech to win 24-20 (Jan. 1, 2026 USA Today roundtable). I bet I can guess his prediction (and reasoning) for the upcoming November 7, 2026 game against Ohio State too?

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by AnotherOD

Who is playing playoff caliber football week 1 or even 2?!

It's a long season. Improvement comes from practice, yes, but more importantly, actually playing the games.

The best thing that could have happened did. The guys realized preseason press and hype isn't worth much. They dug down deep and fought through and won a good game against a quality opponent.

Our guys learned something from this game. What did all those teams beating up on weak teams learn?

I think we caught a glimpse of just how good we can be this year. All those mistakes, an O-line still developing and still 497 yards of offense!

The defense is still learning to work together. Their 1st TD was a mistake by new players working together misreading the switch. A young linebacker crew learning to read and make defensive calls.

All in all, lots of room for improvement, but oh, the potential is real!

Writer Hayes is a graduate of Florida and lives/works from Orlando.

Here's another brilliant assessment:

https://x.com/MattHayesCFB/status/2096405090689077475

He has been a writer for many years including USA Today.