After a wait of over a decade, Ohio State finally lifted the national championship trophy. Their run, however, wasn’t without hurdles. At one point, after that loss against the Wolverines, everything seemed to have gone against Ryan Day’s squad. But the team rallied around and went on an undefeated spree, smashing opponents, one after another, in sheer dominating fashion. The Michigan loss wasn’t the only skirmish in the Buckeyes’ regular-season record. Another coach, leading a program in its first appearance in the B1G, stopped the Ohio State train. There was, of course, payback. In the playoffs. Urban Meyer thinks that the head coach will have a surefire edge this season.
That program is none other than Dan Lanning‘s Oregon. He’s had a tough few initial years, starting at Pittsburgh as a graduate assistant. And now, after more than a decade, Lanning’s era at Eugene has brought Oregon resounding success year after year. To debut in a high-stakes conference like the Big 10 is not easy. Lincoln Riley, for example, fell from his 11-2 record in his Big 10 debut. Lanning, on the other hand, bumped up his last record to a near-flawless campaign of 12-1. This season, Lanning has some new elements factoring into his 2025 campaign. But the ceiling remains high for him. Urban Meyer thinks Oregon is well-placed to dazzle audiences once again.
The veteran coach said in a July 9 episode of The Triple Option that Oregon might go beyond the 10.5 betting average. Rob Stone lauded the efforts of Lanning so far at Eugene. “Dan Lanning has done an awesome job. This will be his fourth season. His first three seasons as a coach, 10 wins, 12 wins, 13 wins. You see the trajectory. I mean, Dan Lanning is absolutely elite and what he is building in Oregon.” But, he also added that there was one thing “missing” from Lanning’s shining resume that would formally declare him as elite.
“The big gold trophy, man,” Urban Meyer added. Going over 10.5 wins means, once again, Lanning will prove to be a downer for Ohio State. Not only is Oregon expected to repeat its clean sweep in the conference, but the Ducks also get a chance to win the first-round bye in the playoffs. Once that happens, Ohio State’s route will get a little difficult.
NCAA, College League, USA Football: Rose Bowl Media Day-Oregon Dec 30, 2024 Los Angeles, CA, USA Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning during Rose Bowl media day at Sheraton Grand LA. Los Angeles Sheraton Grand LA CA USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xKirbyxLeex 20241230_szo_al2_0027
“I think he’s certainly one of the top two or three coaches in the country right now. Love his enthusiasm… He loves Oregon… I know you’re going to ask this, but Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, you know, blue bloods, right? You got to go get you crystal ball. You got to win the national championship,” Meyer added.
Lanning started his head coach job with a bang, straight into double digits already. In his 2nd attempt, he led the Ducks to a Big 12 Championship berth. A year later, he finally won the program a conference championship. It’s normal for fans to hope for a national championship from Lanning now, who’s shown this much potential this early.
Meyer also had high hopes for Dante Moore as Lanning’s starting QB. “I saw this quarterback. I made sure I watched him in high school because he was a 5-star, I kept hearing about him. Yeah. And, talented dude, man,” the coach said. Moore will undertake the backbreaking job of carrying on from Dillon Gabriel as QB1, should he win the job. Gabriel did it for Bo Nix, and it’s only fair to expect that Moore will do the same for Gabriel. Moore also comes with a 5-star rating and sat for a year at Oregon to watch Gabriel light up the field. And just like Lanning, the ceiling is high for Moore as well.
Dan Lanning’s OC shared his hopes for Dante Moore
A major reason why Lanning was so successful was because of Will Stein’s stellar offenses. Since 2023, ESPN notes that Oregon led the FBS in scoring and came second in points per play. And in the two years he spent in Eugene, he saw two Oregon QBs become Heisman finalists. In his 3rd year at Oregon, Stein’s offense is already within the top 10, before the season begins. That’s why Stein had his expectations clear for Dante Moore, the likely star of his 2025 offense.
“I think it really boils down to just having command of the offense, being able for me to call a play into their ear and for them to call it right in the huddle. For them to get to the line of scrimmage with enough time to potentially change the protection, change the run scheme. Being able to read the defense and then go to the correct place with the ball,” Stein said in a July 3 video of George Wrighster’s College Football Podcast. Moore has spent a full year in the Oregon system now, learning Stein’s strategy from the inside.
Moore has some flaws to work on, despite publishing some good numbers from his season at UCLA. Despite that, experts are high on the QB leading the Ducks to the same level of success that came last year. Can Dan Lanning formally declare Oregon a CFB blueblood with yet another impressive season and by winning the National Championship this year?
The post Urban Meyer Makes Major Statement About B1G That Could Hurt Ohio State’s National Title Defence appeared first on EssentiallySports.
