Oregon Consistently Gets Better, A LOT BETTER, After Losses
The Facts from 37 months Under Dan Lanning
You saw Penn State lose a close game to Oregon this year and then watched the Nittany Lions turtle their next two games, brutal defeats, coach fired, dreams obliterated, season over.
In 2024, Ohio State lost at home to an unranked Michigan team. The gut punch on national television was humiliating and shocked then play-caller Chip Kelly and the Buckeyes into a new offensive mindset. The product of this new groove was three, double digit wins in a row and a National Championship.
What will Oregon mirror, the Penn State crater, or Ohio State crescendo?
Oregon Case History with Dan Lanning:
2022 – The Ducks lay an egg in the season opener on a neutral field in Atlanta, Georgia, and get blow out by Georgia. QB Bo Nix throws two interceptions, and Bo Picks seems like a more likely future nickname than Bo-Dacious.
What happens next? Oregon rebounds by winning its next 8 games by an average of 23 points.
2023 – October 7th, Oregon falls behind late in the fourth quarter, and loses to a ranked team by 3 points.
What happens next? Oregon makes adjustments and rattles off 6 wins in a row all by 10 points or more.
2024 – No losses until the final game of the year, so there was no opportunity for a rebound.
2025 – October 11th, Oregon’s defense is solid, but the offense only scores 13 points, and is upset by 7.5 underdog Indiana.
What happens next? ? ?
“Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Heck no.” (Animal House, 1978)
Dante Moore will learn from this game, and stay in the pocket a little longer. (Photo by Eric Becker)
Fact: More than half of the college football national champions over the last 20 years have been won by teams with at least one loss, . . . LSU 2007 and Ohio State 2025 had two losses each. I’m not saying anyone wants to see a loss, but I am saying the evidence shows that for many national championship teams–losses at the right time are galvanizing.
Don’t believe me? Here’s what the Sharp’s are saying. ESPN’s Heather Dinich has Oregon at No. 8 in the nation in this week’s poll. Spencer McLaughlin is the host of the popular Locked On Ducks podcast. I spoke with him Monday afternoon, and his take is similar to what a lot of people close to the program are thinking and saying.
“Realize this was a tie game late in 4th quarter. Yes, Dante Moore and Will Stein had bad days, but Oregon isn’t exposed to the extent that they can’t recover,” says McLaughlin.
Indiana was the better team on Saturday, but they also got a 58-yard field goal from a guy who’d never made a 50-yarder in his life. Meanwhile Oregon’s 85% field goal kicker Adam Sappington missed a bunny from 36 yards out. That’s a 6-point swing. If those two plays happen like they usually happen, Oregon, despite how poorly the offense played, is driving for a game-winning score in the final seconds.
“Look at Bo Nix’s early starts in the SEC. He had his moments at Auburn and had his rough times at Oregon. And look at the body of work Will Stein has, he can get this right,” says McLaughlin.
“Dante Moore had receivers open, he just didn’t see them or didn’t hit them.”
Gary Bryant Jr. has already made big plays this season, such as the overtime touchdown. (Photo by Max Unkrich)
The scenarios below are all possible, and many likely outcomes over the final six weeks of the regular season. Imagine a world where just half of the things below happen:
– Oregon puts the ball in Kenyon Sadiq and Dakorien Moore’s hands 5-8 times a game each.
– The Ducks throw the ball 10+ yards down the field to multiple times a quarter to receivers or running backs on wheel routes being guarded by linebackers or safeties.
– Will Stein breaks out creative play calls like he had in Oregon’s first three home games, such as the double-reverse, flee-flicker, screen pass against Oklahoma State.
– Gary Bryant, Jr., is encouraged to return punts, not just field them. Remember Cliff Harris and Keenan Howry being game changers for the Ducks? They combined for 8 TDs returning punts in their time at Oregon. Bryant can be a weapon in the return game.
– Evan Stewart returns.
– The Duck defense keeps scoring.
– The D-Line keeps putting pressure on the quarterback. Pressures lead to interceptions, as Jerry Mixon, Brandon Finney Jr. and Peyton Woodyard can vouch for that.
Yes, the Ducks are currently on Dean Wormer’s double secret probation, but the grass is still darn-green in Eugene. McLaughlin concluded, “Oregon is not as far away from being a great team as you think they are, just because they lost one game to a highly ranked team.”
Sometimes things have to get a little bit softer now, before they get a little bit louder now.
Michael Ostrom
Dallas, Texas
Top Photo by Scott Kelley
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Mike Ostrom is a 1989 Oregon Graduate (Journalism Major) He worked on air as the TV Sports Director for a CBS affiliate for many years and has free lanced for ESPN, Fox and other media entities. He has covered everything from high school football to the Superbowl. Mike lives in Dallas, TX where he and his wife raised five children. His full time job is in the Google/Social Media advertising space. The Ostroms also run a small ministry that provides soccer balls for orphans and underprivileged kids around the world.