College football analyst Josh Pate had praise for Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning earlier in the week. While appearing on the popular “Josh Pate’s College Football Show” on YouTube, Pate explained how Lanning had exceeded his expectations and has been evidently learning how to coach on the fly in his short head coaching career.
This campaign saw the Ducks exceed expectations across the board and finish the regular season with an undefeated record while playing in the Big Ten Conference. This remarkable statistical year saw the Ducks qualify for the College Football Playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the nation and receive a bye until the quarterfinals of the tournament. However, the Ducks were eliminated by the Ohio State Buckeyes by a score of 41-21 in that quarterfinal match.
What Did Josh Pate Say About Dan Lanning?
Pate made clear that he was not yet ready to view and label Lanning as the top coach in college football. However, he did also hint that he believes Lanning has been learning and has done a solid job as the head coach of the Ducks.
“Well, he’s not ready. He’s ready to be the head coach at Oregon. He’s ready to learn on the fly just like everyone else has done but you know it isn’t the biggest indictment in the world to tell me a 38-year-old dude who had never had head coaching experience before Oregon lands at Oregon and a few years in he’s not the best in the country,” he explained.
Pate continued by outlining how Lanning was still a very young coach with the potential to succeed at the college level.
Lanning has been the head coach of the Ducks for the last three seasons, winning 10+ games each time and more games every year. This came after a successful stint as the Georgia Bulldogs offensive coordinator from 2019-2021, winning the 2021-22 CFP National Championship.
Oregon Ducks Rose Bowl Loss Recap
As previously highlighted, the Ducks lost to the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. Despite the loss, the Ducks still had a strong campaign that exceeded the expectations of many before the beginning of the season.
The Ducks found themselves behind early in the contest and were unable to ever catch up to the Buckeyes. Though they performed better in the second half, Oregon were trailing the game 34-8 at half-time. As a result, the match never felt particularly close at any point, despite the second-half comeback attempt.
The Ducks passing game led by QB Dillon Gabriel was effective, who threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns. However, Oregon failed to ever get the run game going, especially after the team fell behind so early and was forced into a more pass-heavy approach. The most effective rusher for the Ducks was running back Jordan James who had seven carries for 14 yards.
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