Some Much Needed Perspective About DL From Josh Pate

[kirklandduck]

 

[OregonDucks]

Thanks for sharing. I respect the heck out of Josh Pate and believe that he’s one of the best college football analysts.  

 

“Dan Lanning could coach another 13 seasons and he would still be younger than Nick Saban was when he won his first title.”

 

Dan Lanning was a home run hire and the best Oregon could have expected. I’m sure that he has exceeded all initial expectations. The Oregon Football Program is on the right trajectory, under Coach Lanning’s leadership, and needs to continue to upgrade the talent on the roster (as they are doing) to compete with the best of the best in the post season.  
 

Remember, fellow Oregon fans, we will always be fighting an uphill battle since we don’t have a state rich in high school football talent, are not based in a major metropolitan area and do not have the history and tradition to fall back on. If Coach Lanning can win the first national championship at Oregon it would be way more impressive than winning at USC, Alabama, Ohio State, et al.  

Edited January 7 by OregonDucks

[Jon Joseph]

No team and coach were handed a tougher slate than OBD this season.

 

OBD overcame playing eight games in a row without an off week. Overcame four of the last eight games being played on the road. Overcame two of its last regular season opponents being off the Saturday before playing the Ducks. Overcame Tez being injured at Michigan and overcame bad O-line play in the first two games. 

 

Dan and his assistants did a tremendous job of melding in new players from the transfer portal with the returning players and creating a TEAM atmosphere. FSU supposedly had a better group of transfers than OBD, how did that work out? 

 

The grind of the season and the travel showed up on the D side of the ball vs. Penn State. I think 11 days of rest before a home game in Autzen vs. a team that made sense as the 8-seed would have been perfect. Instead, the Ducks lost their legs and conditioning. Against most teams in the PO OBD could have found its footing before being behind 34-0. Not against this Ohio State team with its hair on fire.

 

OBD could not overcome a bad PO draw against a team with a more talented roster that experienced its nadir against its rival but had the chance to rebound in a home game before playing Oregon in a neutral site game. tOSU has the best roster in CFB and played like it in its last two games. 

 

Of the many things I learned from the Rose Bowl, Number One is you cannot underestimate the impact of the Autzen crowd and playing at home. 

 

Against Michigan and throughout the season the Buckeyes looked like it was out to prove that Ohio State was the toughest kid on the block. After watching the Tennessee and Rose Bowl games I wondered: Who called the Michigan game? 

 

Ohio State woke up and returned to the formula of setting up the run with the pass. The formula that worked so well with Fields and Stroud at QB throwing to top-drawer wide receivers. On D it appeared to be the same. Knowles said, 'Forget the scheme and turn it loose.'

 

The superior Ohio State athletes were allowed to let it go and have fun. 

 

Will the fervor and excellence the Buckeyes O played with vs. the Vols and the Ducks show up in Dallas? The Buckeyes D but for the game in Autzen showed up consistently in 2024. If Chip and the offense can keep it up, tOSU will finish 14-2 and Day will have his first Natty. 

 

Ohio State was the 8-seed, right? 

[kirklandduck]

I like listening to Josh Pate because he always offers very nuanced opinions backed up with facts and common sense.  I think he's spot on with where DL is in his career and how that aligns with Oregon's trajectory.  Most fair weather fans I see online are quick to dump on him and Oregon for losing a game (albeit in the playoff) with complete disregard on how much he's accomplished in his 3 years as a HC.  

 

I also think we should keep in mind that Will Stein is also very young and has only been an OC for 3 seasons as well.  Putting that into context, I like where the program is headed.

[30Duck]

On 1/7/2025 at 6:47 AM, OregonDucks said:

 

Remember, fellow Oregon fans, we will always be fighting an uphill battle since we don’t have a state rich in high school football talent, are not based in a major metropolitan area and do not have the history and tradition to fall back on. If Coach Lanning can win the first national championship at Oregon it would be way more impressive than winning at USC, Alabama, Ohio State, et al.  

We all forgot that. Even in "The Forum with Decorum" we became fanatics. Undefeated, B1G Champs, No.1, it wasn't hard to let reality fly away. Only to have it smack us in the face on Jan.1. But the reality also is Oregon is a championship contender. The reality is they are the defending B1G champs and will get that Natty!