Dan Lanning didn’t spend long looking past Oregon’s 34-26 win over then-ranked No. 20 Northwestern, but the Ducks coach did make clear he knows what’s waiting next.
Oregon now turns to a road trip against No. 11 Ohio State, and Lanning had plenty of respect for Ryan Day when asked about the matchup. He spoke before then-unranked USC beat Ohio State in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but that result doesn’t appear to change how Oregon will approach the Buckeyes.
“It’s certainly going to be a great challenge. Obviously, they’re a great team, and Coach (Ryan) Day does an unbelievable job.
I think it goes back to all the things we focused on this week. We can’t focus on outcomes.
Let’s focus on the things that can make us better. There are going to be moments we can watch in this game and say we could have been even better than we were today," said Lanning.
"You don’t get an opportunity to make mistakes like that against great teams like Ohio State, so we’re going to have to be at our best. We’re going to enjoy this win for 24 hours, and then when we hit the ground running tomorrow as a staff, we’ll be ready to attack the next team," Lanning said.
The Ducks’ win over Northwestern came with a few clean-up items. Oregon did put the ball on the ground once with a fumble, but the penalty count was much better. The Ducks were flagged only once, and that cost them five yards.
The Ohio State game had already been circled well before the season kicked off. Oregon entered the year No. 2 in the preseason AP Poll, while the Buckeyes opened as the No. 1 team in the country, making this one of the most anticipated games on the schedule.
It no longer carries the top-ranked billing, but there’s still plenty hanging over it. Oregon has already dropped three games, and Lanning said he does not expect quarterback Dante Moore back this season, which has effectively ended the Ducks’ College Football Playoff hopes.
There is still a path, at least in theory, to the Big Ten championship game. Oregon would need help from teams ahead of it, including a loss by No. 4 Indiana, to make that happen.
Ohio State is dealing with its own issues. Starting quarterback Julian Sayin is out indefinitely, and with Luke Fahey under center, the Buckeyes were able to move the ball against USC even in rainy conditions at times. The problem was finishing drives, as Ohio State struggled to turn possessions into touchdowns and also had trouble slowing down the Trojans offense.
The loss to USC was Ohio State’s first in conference play, and it leaves the Buckeyes with a thinner road to the Big Ten title game. Still, a win over Oregon would do damage to one of the teams in the way of that goal.
In Other News...
Arizona Just Got A Painful Reality Check In The Rankings
Ohio States trip to USC turned into the kind of setback that can shake up the entire rankings picture, even with the Buckeyes out-gaining the Trojans on the night. With true freshman Luke Fahey starting at quarterback because of Julian Sayins injury, Ohio State still had enough talent to control stretches of the game, but missed tackles, penalties and special teams mistakes kept opening the door for USC to make the most of it.
The ripple effects go beyond Columbus, too. Georgia steadied itself with a win over Florida after its earlier loss, though the passing game still looked like a work in progress, while Floridas offensive issues are pushing it toward another drop after its third loss. And for Arizona, Texas Techs important win only adds to the pressure in a crowded rankings race, the sort of result that can quickly turn a promising week into a painful reality check. [Read more 🡒]
Lincoln Riley Added More Fuel To Ohio States Ugly Night
After USCs 30-18 win over Ohio State, the night got even messier as Lincoln Riley found himself in the middle of a postgame confrontation while leaving the field. Reporters on hand and video from the scene showed the USC coach exchanging words with Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork and other staff members, turning an already rough loss for the Buckeyes into something more combustible on the way off the turf.
Maurice Clarett, the former Ohio State running back, was also seen stepping in to help cool things down as the moment escalated. For a game that already carried plenty of weight, the postgame scene added another layer of tension, leaving the Buckeyes to sort through both the defeat and the fallout from a night that was ugly in more ways than one. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Suddenly Has A Bigger Problem Than One Road Loss
The upset in Los Angeles did more than hand Ohio State a road loss. USCs defense set the tone early and never let the Buckeyes get comfortable, holding them to one touchdown while piling up tackles for loss and sacks against backup quarterback Luke Fahey. The Trojans also got the kind of explosive play they have been hunting, with Mark Bowman turning a short opening into a 70-yard catch-and-run that helped swing the game in USCs favor.
For Lincoln Riley, the 30-18 win carried extra weight because it was his first top-five victory with the Trojans, and it came against a team that arrived with far more national respect. For Ohio State, the bigger issue now is not just the blemish on the schedule but the way the offense looked under pressure, with a backup quarterback trying to survive behind a line that could not settle things down. [Read more 🡒]