More Woes for Dan Lanning as Oregon Gets Surprising B1G Verdict After Sextuple Recruiting Blow

Oregon’s invincibility throughout the regular season got eradicated in the very first playoff game last year. Ohio State peaked at just the right time to get revenge for that excruciating loss in Autzen Stadium earlier. That beautiful Pasadena sunset became the backdrop to a massacre at the Rose Bowl. However, in the grand scheme of things, HC Dan Lanning can take solace from what he and his program achieved in 2024. 

To win the Big 10 in the very first year after realigning from the Pac-12 is unequivocally a massive success. That evening in Indy was the ultimate legitimizer of what Dan Lanning is building out in Eugene. Even though things ended anticlimactically, the ‘24 Oregon Ducks did win some hardware after all. However, there’s a school of thought that they wouldn’t quite be able to repeat this feat next season. Floated onto the airwaves not by a cynic or undermining member of the national media. But one of their own fans, who also happens to be a very prominent voice in College Football discourse.

Over the “Locked on Ducks” podcast, host Spencer McLaughlin discussed hot takes he was sent by listeners. Turns out, he wound up dishing one out himself. McLaughlin, for one, isn’t under a false sense of security that winning the B1G is routine procedure. Repeatable, sure, but not routine. The national champions Ohio State are still vying in the same conference last time we checked, and so is fellow blueblood Michigan. Even Penn State are a very real threat, especially after their activity in the offseason. Come to think of it, McLaughlin’s suggestion that Dan Lanning and Oregon potentially miss the B1G championship outright isn’t even a very hot take. More lukewarm, rather. This stemmed from one person saying they’d make the conf. championship 3 of the next 4 years. Which McLaughlin disagreed with.

“Other programs, it turns out, have money, have good coaches and are capable of winning a lot of football games,” said Spencer McLaughlin, rather condescendingly. He proceeded to lay out the very rationale scenario in which Dan Lanning’s Ducks miss the Big 10 championship. “Let’s say they lose to Penn State this year. They could go 11-1. [If that happens,] they could miss the Big 10 championship game. They don’t play Michigan, they don’t play Ohio State. Those teams, of course, play each other. Let’s say Ohio State finally beats Michigan again, and Penn State beats Oregon. Your Big 10 championship is Ohio State and Penn State, and Oregon could be sitting there on the outside looking in…there are just a lot of variables there,” said McLaughlin. This hinges on OSU and PSU getting through the rest of their schedule almost unblemished, but it does make sense.

If Dan Lanning and co. do indeed manage to go 11-1, they’d make the CFP regardless. So that does offset missing on the opportunity of B1G supremacy. Ironically, winning it last year actually may have cost them in the playoffs. Coach Lanning has himself proclaimed the automatic bye-week that Oregon received for winning it hindered their preparation. And while Lanning won’t say this explicitly, he probably feels hard done anyways that his reward was playing the Buckeyes in round 2. While the team they beat to that championship, Penn State, fell on the relatively ‘easier’ side of the bracket. Alas, this is a lot of projecting and a very subjective hypothetical. There’s a lot of room for nuance, for chaos. Which will inadvertently ensue once fall comes around. For now, though, Dan Lanning has some more tangible bad news to contend with as well.

Oregon and Dan Lanning dealt multiple blows on the recruitment front

Protege Dan Lanning went head-to-head against his mentor Kirby Smart and former employers Georgia over the No.1 QB in the class of ‘26. However, he’s come up just short. Jared Curtis’ final 2 included Oregon but he has instead chosen to commit to UGA. That Phil Knight-Nike allure not quite being enough to mobilize Curtis was a huge blow. But when it rains, it pours.

Unfortunately for Coach Lanning, Curtis isn’t the only recruit he’s missed out on recently.  Wide receiver Kayden Dixton, offensive tackles Kodi Greene and Bott Mulitalo II, D-lineman Tomuhini Topui and quarterback Jonas Williams have also diverged away from Oregon despite them being strong contenders for their services. 

Being projected to alleviate losing out on Jared Curtis by pivoting into fellow 5-star quarterback Ryder Lyons does ease the pain a little. But this just goes to show how Dan Lanning’s program still has some way to go. The dynastic Georgia has reminded them they’re still the big dogs (pun very much intended) in the sport. That said, Oregon are very much on the ascension towards that top echelon. Whether they make consecutive B1G championship games or not.

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