Winning is a skill, and the Oregon Ducks have proven this year that it’s a skill they possess in droves.
With a 13-0 record and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, Dan Lanning is coaching the only undefeated team in the nation. Winning has become natural for them.
But a lot of teams in the nation can win. It’s the ability to win in different ways that set this Oregon team apart going into the playoffs.
So far this year, the Ducks have won a pair of games by three points, one game by eight points, and a thrilling victory against Ohio State by a single point back in October. They also have won two games by 35 points, one game by 31 points, one game by 28 points, four games by 21 points, and one game by 10 points.
It’s safe to say that the Ducks feel good about their chances whether it comes in a a blowout, a shootout, or a dogfight. Going into a win-or-go-home situation against the Buckeyes on New Year’s Day in the Rose Bowl, that matters.
“I think it’s been really important for us, for our team, to realize that we can win a lot of different ways,” Lanning said on Monday in his Rose Bowl press conference. “And with that piece, knowing that if you’re able to put all three phases together, and you play your best football, you can have a lot of success.”
There are a lot of teams who have one trick that works, and they go back to that well time after time to great success. Past Oregon teams have done this, using an explosive offense that few teams could stop to make it to national championships and College Football Playoffs. When that team met resistance, though, particularly in the trenches against a bigger and more physical team, we saw them struggle to adapt.
This Oregon team is different, though. They’ve shown this year that they can air it out in a shootout with Ohio State, out-physical Michigan in a blowout on the road, and get down and dirty in the trenches with Wisconsin in an absolute dogfight.
“Football games come in a lot of different ways, and being able to be a team that can win it in multiple different ways is important for us,” Lanning said.
So what will the Rose Bowl against Ohio State present for the Ducks? That’s tough to say at this point, as the Buckeyes are about as multiple as Oregon, showing the ability to beat you in different ways. With one of the most explosive receiving corps in the nation, a backfield of talented rushers, and the No. 1 ranked defense in the nation, Ohio State presents a lot of challenges to their opponents.
Fortunately, the Ducks have always been able to find the right solution so far.
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