EUGENE, Ore. — After 60 minutes of playing the role of head coach during Oregon’s 10th win of the season — a 42-27 victory over USC — Dan Lanning allowed himself to do some playoff politicking.
“We didn’t play Chattanooga State today, right? Like some other places,” Lanning said in his postgame news conference, alluding to the SEC teams that scheduled nonconference games this week. “We competed. It’s tough playing nine conference games. It’s tough playing in this league.”
In what was one of only two matchups between ranked teams this week, No. 7 Oregon handled No. 15 USC by outscoring the Trojans in a game defined by high-powered offenses and special teams. Despite missing their top two receivers, Dakorien Moore and Gary Bryant Jr., and losing their starting center during the game, the Ducks outgained USC 436 yards to 382 and held the Trojans’ rushing attack to only 52 yards while forcing two turnovers.
“I think proof’s in the pudding,” Lanning said. “We can beat you in multiple ways, right? We can outscore you at times, right? We can hold you to the 18, 16-[point] type of game, win in tough environments, any weather, put the ball down, let’s go play football. That’s the kind of team that we have.”
As the chatter around the College Football Playoff field ramps up, Lanning — who has led Oregon to four straight double-digit-win seasons — took issue with how teams’ wins are sometimes viewed by the committee.
“A lot of times, we play really good teams and they become unranked, all of a sudden. That’s not our fault, right?” Lanning said, flashing a smile. “Maybe it is our fault.”
Oregon heads to Washington next week for a rivalry matchup with plenty still at stake. How far the Ducks rise in the next playoff rankings could determine whether a loss to the Huskies jeopardizes their spot in the field or simply their seeding.
“We got to take advantage of playing a good team today and attacking that,” Lanning said. “We played a good team; we beat them. All we can do next week is try to do the same thing, right?”