dan lanning – Syndication Server

Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel pens heartfelt goodbye to Duck fans

Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel pens heartfelt goodbye to Duck fans as he moves on to the NFL.

Dillon Gabriel was in Eugene playing for the Oregon Ducks for just a year, but it seems as if that one year in the Willamette Valley made quite an impact on him.

In a short message to Oregon Duck fans everyone, Gabriel wanted to express his gratitude on social media.

“Over the past few weeks, I’ve taken some time to reflect on what this year has meant to me, and I’m filled with gratitude and pride,” he said. “I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to Oregon and Duck Nation for believing in me and your unwavering support through this special season.”

Gabriel led the Ducks through a perfect regular season and their first Big Ten championship in their first season in the conference. The season ended with Oregon’s only defeat, a 41-21 loss in the Rose Bowl to eventual national champion Ohio State.

In his one and only season as a Duck, Gabriel was a Heisman finalist where he completed 73 percent of his passes, threw for a career-high 3,857 yards, 30 touchdowns with just six interceptions. He also ran for seven other scores.

Gabriel was also a mentor to sophomore quarterbacks Dante Moore and Austin Novosad where Oregon should see the fruits of that labor in the coming years.

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Oregon finishes high in US LBM Coaches Poll despite Rose Bowl loss

Ducks finish in upper portion of the US LBM Coaches poll despite Rose Bowl loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes to close the year.

The Oregon Ducks football team’s Rose Bowl loss to Ohio State will sting for a bit, but that shouldn’t diminish what was a great regular season.

Oregon finished as the Big Ten champions and with just that one loss, the Ducks finished the 2024 season ranked No. 4 in the country in the last US LBM USA TODAY Coaches poll of the season.. The only teams ahead of them are the two national championship participants, Ohio State and Notre Dame as well as Texas.

As it turns out, the Big Ten was the strongest conference in the nation with the Buckeyes winning it all, Oregon at No. 4 and Penn State at No. 5. Indiana finished No. 10 and Illinois at No. 16.

The Ducks’ 2024 success doesn’t seem to be fleeting as Oregon as named as one of the top contenders to win the national championship in 2025. But that’s next season. This year is still foremost on most of the Duck fans’ mind and one can only think of what could have been, especially since the Buckeyes won it all.

There will still be plenty of happy memories associated with this season, however. The win over Ohio State at Autzen Stadium has to be No. 1 on most lists.

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Change	High/Low
1	Ohio State Buckeyes	14-2	1,325 (53)	+6	1/8
2	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	14-2	1,271	+1	2/19
3	Texas Longhorns	13-3	1,180	+1	1/6
4	Oregon Ducks	13-1	1,149	-3	1/7
5	Penn State Nittany Lions	13-3	1,145	–	3/9
6	Georgia Bulldogs	11-3	1,066	-4	1/10
7	Arizona State Sun Devils	11-3	986	+3	7/NR
8	Tennessee Volunteers	10-3	893	-2	4/15
9	Boise State Broncos	12-2	872	-1	8/NR
10	Indiana Hoosiers	11-2	868	-1	5/NR
11	SMU Mustangs	11-3	741	+1	7/NR
11	Clemson Tigers	10-4	741	+2	8/22
13	Ole Miss Rebels	10-3	723	+2	5/18
14	BYU Cougars	11-2	601	+3	8/NR
15	Iowa State Cyclones	11-3	543	+4	10/NR
16	Illinois Fighting Illini	10-3	479	+5	16/NR
17	Alabama Crimson Tide	9-4	400	-6	2/17
18	Miami Hurricanes	10-3	393	-2	4/19
19	South Carolina Gamecocks	9-4	390	-5	12/NR
20	Missouri Tigers	10-3	378	–	8/NR
21	Army Black Knights	12-2	314	-3	17/NR
22	Syracuse Orange	10-3	236	+3	22/NR
23	Memphis Tigers	11-2	174	–	23/NR
24	UNLV Rebels	11-3	149	–	19/NR
25	Colorado Buffaloes	9-4	56	-3	18/NR

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Former Oregon HC and Ohio State OC Chip Kelly shades Ducks with 12-men comment

Former Oregon Ducks head coach and Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly comments on Dan Lanning’s 12-men penalty in October.

The Oregon Ducks‘ 2025 football season came to a close over two weeks ago, but the Ohio State Buckeyes, the team that knocked Oregon out after a rout in the Rose Bowl, still have a game to play. On Monday, the Buckeyes will take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the National Championship Game.

Although Oregon is far away in the Buckeyes’ rearview mirror, Ohio State offensive coordinator and former Ducks’ head coach Chip Kelly mentioned Oregon to the media leading up to the national championship.

“I’ll tell you what, it was a unique message with our players, you can’t stop us with 11, you had to stop us with 12,” Kelly said. “You saw the final results of 11 vs. 11. So that was a message to our team for the week leading up to the Rose Bowl that I think resonated really well with our guys.”

Kelly’s statement refers to the intentional illegal substitution Oregon incurred to run the clock at the end of the Ducks-Buckeyes regular season matchup. With seconds to play, Dan Lanning put 12 defenders on the field to prevent a big gain by the Ohio State offense. A 5-yard penalty was a small price to pay for precious seconds coming off the clock.

Although the Ducks played 12 against 11 for one play in October, they played nearly 140 snaps 11 vs. 11. That play was a pivotal moment in the game, but it is shortsighted to boil Oregon’s victory down to that moment.

Still, Kelly’s message had the intended effect. Ohio State played leagues above Oregon in the Rose Bowl, and every step they’ve taken to the National Championship game has been earned. Whether they’ll be crowned champions on Monday night remains to be seen, but regardless, it’s been an impressive year for the Buckeyes.

The Ducks don’t have the Buckeyes on their regular season schedule next fall, but the two teams are projected to be the pride of the Big Ten once again in 2025. If things play out that way, Oregon and Ohio State will meet in the Big Ten championship.

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Former USC offensive lineman Emmanuel Pregnon commits to Oregon

This is the darkest possible timeline and a worst-case scenario. Again.

It seems as though the Emmanuel Pregnon saga has finally reached a conclusion. For USC fans, it isn’t a particularly pleasant one. On Tuesday, Pregnon announced that he will play his final season of college football at Oregon next year. The announcement marks (presumably, at least) the conclusion of what has been a wild few weeks for him.

For pretty much the entire regular season, the general consensus was that USC’s redshirt senior offensive guard would move on to the NFL. In November, Pregnon even accepted an invitation to the East-West Shrine Bowl.

Prior to USC’s Las Vegas Bowl matchup against Texas A&M, however, new offensive line coach Zach Hanson surprisingly announced that Pregnon would be returning to USC for his sixth and final season of eligibility. The move was a huge boost for the Trojans, as Pregnon was arguably USC’s top offensive lineman in 2024.

A week after the game, however, Pregnon pulled yet another stunner when he entered the transfer portal. Now, it appears as though he is headed to Eugene.

On the surface, losing Pregnon to Oregon isn’t all that different than losing him to the NFL. Outside of the one game where they will have to face him next season, the Trojans are essentially in the same situation that they were in a month ago.

From an optics perspective, however, losing your best offensive lineman to a conference rival is a bad look for USC, especially given the current dynamic of the NIL era. The Trojans invested significant funds to convince Pregnon to come back for one more season, only for the Ducks to come in and swoop him from their fingertips.

For Hanson and USC, it is now back to the drawing board. The Trojans offensive line was a major disappointment in 2024, which was a big part of the reason that the team finished 7-6. It will be essential that the unit improve significantly in 2025 if the Trojans want to have any chance of contending in the Big Ten.

Oregon’s 3 Keys to Victory against Ohio State

The three most important keys for the Oregon Ducks against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2025 Rose Bowl.

The Oregon Ducks are a day away from playing their most important football game in a decade. Ten years ago, the Ducks fell to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2015 national championship game. Now they have a chance to exact revenge in the Rose Bowl.

What college football is all about.

Oregon hosted Ohio State in Autzen Stadium earlier this season and won 32-31. Eleven weeks later, the Ducks (13-0) are still undefeated, and the Buckeyes are 11-2. Their second loss was courtesy of a so-so Michigan team, but Ohio State is fresh off demolishing the Tennessee Volunteers — one of the top teams in the country.

Wednesday’s game will be one to remember, however it shakes out. While most sportsbooks have the Buckeyes favored by about a field goal, I see this game as a tossup. If the Ducks are to win, they’ll likely succeed in the three areas I’ve listed below. My three keys to victory.

Keep the run game locked up

If I had to boil down one reason the Oregon Ducks beat the Ohio State Buckeyes in October, it’s the defense’s effort to keep Quinshon Judkins and TreyVeon Henderson contained. Those are two of the best backs in college football, and the Ducks kept them from doing much of anything. Judkins was nonexistent with 23 yards. While Henderson had 87 yards, 53 came on one rush early in the game. It will not be easy to have the same success, but it will be an important point of focus for Oregon’s defense.

The ball, the ball, the ball

We’ve seen Dan Lanning and Tosh Lupoi repeatedy emphasize the importance of the ball, and how taking it away can change a game. Oregon’s offense will need to be at it’s best in this game regardless — and part of that is not turning the ball over. But if the defense can put the ball back in Dillon Gabriel’s hands with a takeaway once or twice, the Ducks will be in real good shape.

Win third down

When these teams faced in October, the Ducks converted nearly half of their third-down attempts, and the Buckeyes converted a third. That may seem like a small difference, but in games like these — fights between two heavyweights — every first down matters, and third-down stops can matter even more. If Oregon can create a similar gap in third-down efficiency, they’ll be in good shape to win.

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Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith sends warning to Oregon defensive backs

Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith sends warning to Oregon defensive backs that if they play man coverage, it will be at their own peril.

The Oregon Ducks don’t need bulletin board material to get motivation for Ohio State in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1. But Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith provided the Ducks some.

“So I’m just letting everybody know right now that if you play man (coverage) Wednesday, we’re taking a shot,” Smith said.

No doubt coach Dan Lanning and defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi’s eyes perked up after hearing Smith say this at the press conference on Monday. If you have been paying attention to the Ducks this season or even last season, Lanning doesn’t need help from the opposition to fire up his football team.

Ask Colorado how that went.

Smith and the Buckeyes have a lot of confidence, however, after defeating Tennessee, 42-17, in the first round of the College Football Playoff. The Volunteers played mostly man coverage in their secondary and were burned. Smith had six catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Emeka Egbuka had five more receptions for 81 yards.

Odds are the Ducks aren’t going to change up their game plan just because of what Smith said. Oregon usually mixes up the defensive coverage throughout every game, including man coverage. Oregon also features one of the best cornerbacks in the nation, Jabbar Muhammad.

Look for a conversation between those two players throughout the game Wednesday. It might be as entertaining as the game itself, which promises to be one of the best ones of this college football season.

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Previewing the Ohio State defense before the Rose Bowl Game

Previewing the Ohio State defense before the Rose Bowl Game against Oregon on Jan. 1.

When it comes to media coverage of the Ohio State Buckeyes, most stories are aimed at the offense and those two incredible receivers in Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith. And for good reason. It’s one of the top offenses in the country.

But on the other side of the ball is a defense that might be just as good as any defense in the nation and sometimes that’s forgotten in all of the noise.

Ohio State is great in all three levels, the line, the linebackers and the secondary. There are no weaknesses and it’s the Ducks’ job to poke a hole in that defense, if possible.

“They limit explosive plays. They do a great job keeping the ball in front,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said before the first game with the Buckeyes. “They play really physical in the front. They’re able to stop the run. They’re really sound and aggressive at times in coverage, but they pitch a lot of different looks at you as well. But it starts with they eliminate explosive plays.

“They play really sound football. They have good overlap in their defense. They’re able to change the picture up. They have really good D linemen, good edges, and then they’re able to cover outside, so they create a lot of challenges there.”

In the first game with the Ducks, the Buckeyes had a tough time with Oregon’s balanced attack and they also had trouble with Oregon going deep down the field in one-on-one matchups on the outside. The Ducks had three plays of over 40 yards. Before that game, Ohio State had just allowed just one explosion play of that type.

Before that game, Lanning said the Buckeyes have a good defensive line, but the Ducks were excellent in protecting Dillon Gabriel. Ohio State didn’t sack him once.

But that line is still really good and is led by defensive end JT Tuimoloau and his eight sacks to go with his 46 tackles and 14 for loss. He demands a double-team a lot of the time, which opens up holes for the other D-linemen or linebackers, such as Lathan Ransom, to run through and get to the quarterback.

The secondary is led by one of, if not, the best safety in the country in Caleb Downs. He transferred to Ohio State after leaving Alabama. Downs has 69 tackles, but the opponent tries to throw away from his area a lot of the time. He’s also a dangerous kick returner. Downs averages 16 yards per punt return and a touchdown.

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Previewing the Ohio State offense before Rose Bowl game against Oregon

Ohio State brings in one of the most talented and consistent offenses into the Rose Bowl Game against Oregon on Jan. 1.

This happens all the time in the NFL, but in college football, this is rare.

Oregon and Ohio State will meet up for the second time this season as the two teams will fight it out in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.

Ohio State’s offense has been one of the more consistent offenses in the country this season. The Buckeyes had one clunker offensively, the 13-10 loss to Michigan. Other than that, quarterback Will Howard, a transfer from Kansas State, fits perfectly with the Buckeyes. He was named Third-Team All-Big Ten.

Predictably, Howard’s favorite targets, as they should be, are receivers Emeka Egbuka and true freshman Jeremiah Smith. Egbuka is one of the best receivers out there and should be a first-round NFL draft pick and Smith isn’t disappointing as a former No. 1 recruit. Smith was also a First-Team All-Big Ten selection.

Egbuka has 65 catches for 824 yards (63.3 ypg) to go with nine touchdowns. Smith has shown he’s ready for the big time as he leads Ohio State with five touchdowns with his 63 receptions and 1,037 yards and 12 touchdowns. In the first matchup with the Ducks at Autzen Stadium, the two combined for 19 receptions for almost 200 yards and two scores.

“They can catch the ball and they can turn into a big play right away. It’s not necessarily always their average depth of target is way down the field,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said before the first game where Oregon pulled out a 32-31 thrilling win. “It’s their ability to catch it in space and get vertical. They block really, really well on the perimeter. And those guys have big catch radius. So you see them win on balls that you can you call 50-50 balls. A lot of times they win on contested balls, they do a really good job there.”

Although it wasn’t as evident against the Ducks defense, what makes Ohio State’s offense so good is that the opposition can’t just concentrate on the passing game. Running backs Quinshon Judkins (Third Team All Big Ten) and TreVeyon Henderson are a powerful 1-2 punch out of the backfield.

Judkins has gained 839 yards (64.5 ypg) and has scored 10 touchdowns, while Henderson is averaging seven yards a carry and has scored eight times.

Lanning says offensive coordinator Chip Kelly doesn’t get enough credit for the Buckeyes’ rushing game.

“I think he’s always done a great job of utilizing his personnel. Moving guys around and allowing them to do things that they do really, really well. He always finds unique ways to run the ball,” he said. “I think that’s one thing that he probably doesn’t get enough credit for is his ability to run the ball regardless of the situation. You know, he’s at UCLA last year, the number one rushing team in our conference for many reasons, and it’s because of his ability to run the ball.”

Ohio State has a big offensive line typical of most Big Ten teams. Each of them weigh over 300 pounds, led by senior guard Donovan Jackson. He was a First-Team All-Conference lineman in 2022 and 2024.

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Dan Lanning named as a finalist for George Munger Award

Dan Lanning is one of eight coaches to be named as a finalist for George Munger Award.

The Oregon Ducks football team is in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff and their head coach, Dan Lanning, is a quarterfinalist for the George Munger Award.

Lanning is one of eight coaches from around the country included on the list. The award recognizes exceptional leadership, strategic innovation, and significant impact on the game. It is named in tribute to George Munger, a respected figure in college football known for his influential coaching career.

Also on the list Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, Boise State’s Spencer Danielson, Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham, Penn State’s James Franklin, Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, and Georgia’s Kirby Smart. Cignetti is the only coach not in the CFP quarterfinals that will be played on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1

Lanning fits the award’s explanation perfectly as Oregon is known for innovation. He’s also known for giving inspiring speeches and themes for the week that has led to 13 straight wins this season. All of that can be explored in the “Ducks vs. Them” videos Oregon releases every week on YouTube.

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Ryan Day: Ohio State is brimming with confidence ahead of Rose Bowl vs. Oregon

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day said the team is feeling a lot of confidence ahead of the Rose Bowl against the Oregon Ducks.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are feeling good. They’re feeling a lot better than they were a few weeks ago, to say the least.

It makes sense, too. On Saturday night, the Buckeyes blew out the Tennessee Volunteers in the first round of the College Football Playoff, 42-17, advancing to a quarterfinal game against the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.

Considering that this was Ohio State’s first game since November 30, when they lost to the unranked Michigan Wolverines 13-10 at home — their fourth-straight loss to the rival blue — nobody can blame them for feeling upbeat. A few weeks ago, head coach Ryan Day was being thrown to the wolves by a majority of the fan base, many of whom were calling for his dismissal after the Michigan loss.

That didn’t seem to be of any concern to Day on Monday morning when meeting with media members ahead of the Rose Bowl. He spoke of the energy that his team got from blowing the doors off of an SEC team on Saturday night.

“You can feel the confidence in the locker room,” Day said. “Have to make some adjustments like we always do. Issues are always there. But there was just an overall balance and confidence about the group coming off the game to know that we already have a playoff win under our belt. It will give us confidence going into the game.”

While Ohio State’s players might have picked up a boost in confidence from the win, Oregon players likely feel like they have a boost in health and recovery after enjoying the bye week that came with their No. 1 overall seed. Dan Lanning and his players have been recuperating and preparing for this upcoming matchup against the Buckeyes for a couple of weeks now, waiting for their chance to try and beat Ohio State again.

Ohio State players can have the confidence from winning a first-round playoff game in early December. The Ducks will take the confidence of being undefeated, the No. 1 seed, and having already beat the Buckeyes when the two teams faced earlier this season.

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