Dan Lanning left Oregon with a loss to Oklahoma State, and the way it unfolded has put his coaching choices under a bright spotlight heading into USC.
The Ducks Wire breakdown did not soften the critique. Oregon’s head coach has built a reputation on bold calls - fourth-down tries, fake punts, onside kicks and other high-risk moments that have often felt aggressive but at least explainable. This one, according to the piece, went too far.
The key sequence came with 6:48 remaining and Oregon down by five. Facing fourth-and-8 at its own 38-yard line, Lanning kept the offense on the field instead of punting with three timeouts still available and plenty of clock left.
The result was a Dante Moore incompletion, described in the article as a short-armed throw in what the story called the worst game of Moore’s career. Oklahoma State then added a field goal to push the margin to eight.
That decision was only part of Oregon’s problems. The Ducks were penalized seven times for 66 yards, and the article pointed to two late delay-of-game flags during the comeback push as especially damaging. The criticism was blunt: those kinds of mistakes trace back to coaching, and the piece called them inexcusable.
Lanning didn’t hide from the performance afterward. “We didn't have a lot of rhythm on offense; defensively, we gave up way too many explosives, some poor eye discipline, not winning at the point of attack,” Lanning said after the game.
“Our guys are much more capable of that, so all that starts with me. I didn't prepare our guys well enough.”
With USC coming in just over a week, the pressure on Lanning is only rising. The article framed the next stretch as a major test, one that could shape not only Oregon’s season but the broader direction of his tenure in Eugene.
In Other News...
USC Heads To Rutgers With A New Receiver Concern
USCs trip to Rutgers brings a little more uncertainty to an already important stretch, with true freshman wide receiver Trent Mosley now on the injury list and ruled out because of a knee ailment. The setback is a notable one for a young receiver who had started to carve out a role, and Lincoln Riley said the length of the injury remains unclear while not appearing to be something the staff views as long-term.
For a Trojans offense that has leaned on depth and development at receiver, Mosleys absence opens the door for others to absorb a bigger share of the load. Zacharyus Williams and Terrell Anderson are among the options USC is looking at to help fill the void, and how quickly that group settles in will matter as the Trojans head into a road game with another piece suddenly missing from the plan. [Read more 🡒]
USCs New Reality Is Missing What Made Trojans Football Matter
USCs move to the Big Ten was supposed to bring bigger stages and wider reach, but it has also come with a cost that shows up well beyond the travel budget. The Trojans are now paying more than $4 million for nonconference guarantee games against smaller programs, a reminder that the new calendar is built differently from the one USC fans knew for decades. Just as important, the matchups that once gave the season its pulse have started to fade, replaced by a slate that feels unfamiliar from top to bottom.
The bigger issue for USC is not just expense, but identity. A schedule full of new or infrequent opponents can make the season harder to anchor, and the loss of marquee rivalry games like Notre Dame strips away some of the drama that made Trojan football feel essential. For a program that long sold itself on tradition, pageantry and big-game relevance, the Big Ten era has delivered a different kind of football, one that asks fans to keep caring even as the old touchstones grow harder to find. [Read more 🡒]
USC Faces A Rutgers Threat Built To Keep Maiava Watching
Rutgers arrives for its Big Ten opener with a backfield that has changed shape in a hurry, and that makes the matchup a little more interesting for USC than a standard early conference test. The Scarlet Knights have leaned into the idea of building their offense around the run, and the latest addition to that room, four-star back Aiden Gibson, only adds to the sense that Rutgers is trying to create a physical identity before the games get deeper into league play.
For USC, the concern is less about flash and more about rhythm. If Rutgers can stay on schedule and keep the ball on the ground, it can shorten the game and force the Trojans to watch possessions slip away rather than trade scores in a faster pace. That kind of control is exactly why this opener has a bit more tension than it first appears, because the challenge for USC is not just stopping the run, but preventing Rutgers from using it to dictate everything else. [Read more 🡒]