Nick Saban, Kirk Herbstreit, Pat McAfee Detail Why Oregon Ducks, Dan Lanning Are Elite

The No. 1 Oregon Ducks and coach Dan Lanning are grabbing the attention of the college football world, including legendary coach Nick Saban, ESPN analysts Kirk Herbstreit and Pat McAfee. The ESPN College GameDay Crew rave about Lanning and the Ducks before Oregon's game vs. Maryland.

Kirk Herbstreit and Nick Saban sit on the ESPN College Gameday set prior to the NCAA football game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Ohio State Buckeyes at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pa. on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The No. 1 Oregon Ducks and coach Dan Lanning are grabbing the attention of the College Football world, including legendary coach Nick Saban, ESPN analysts Kirk Herbstreit and Pat McAfee.

ESPN's College GameDay is visiting Baton Rogue, Louisiana for No. 11 Alabama at No. 15 LSU in Week 11. The GameDay crew of Desmond Howard, Rece Davis, Saban, Herbstreit and McAfee raved about Lanning and the Ducks.

Kirk Herbstreit and Nick Saban sit on the ESPN College Gameday set prior to the NCAA football game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Ohio State Buckeyes at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pa. on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"I like Oregon because they've played with the most consistency of any team this entire season," Saban said. "The Ducks are 11th in offense, they're 11th in defense, so they play complementary football."

"But I like Dan Lanning's approach," Saban continued. "He's not about just winning the game. He's about defeating the other team. He called timeout at Michigan to let his team know that we've defeated these guys and the stadium's empty. That's the mindset that I like in the team."

Saban is referencing the timeout Lanning called last Saturday in the Big House - the coach simply to pause the action to have his players watch Michigan fans flood out of the Big House in silence as it became apparent Oregon would win the game. 

"Are you not entertained?" were the words echoed by many Ducks football players during Oregon’s 38-17 win over the Michigan Wolverines after Lanning had the team watch clips from the popular movie the Gladiator.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning leads his team onto the field veer their game against Illinois at Autzen Stadium in Eugene Saturday, Oct 26, 2024. / Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"This team seems to be on a different level of a mission," Herbstreit agreed with Saban.

In some sad news, Herbstreit's dog Ben passed this week. The beloved dog has been known for accompanying Herbstreit to college football and NFL games across the country.

Lanning also had his team read Theodore Roosevelt’s famous words from “The Man in the Arena.” McAfee loved the motivational tactic.

"Dan Lanning showed a speech from Coach K about how some of his favorite times when he was coaching Duke was when they were in somebody else's arena, and at the end of the game it was empty and out. He's like, that's what you play for," McAfee said. "So Dan Lanning showed him some gladiator stuff, showed him Coach K. . . . The whole team's in a 'thumbs-down mentality,' and they're showcasing to everybody - They're not scared of a damn thing."

Can the Ducks stay focused this week with unranked Maryland coming to Autzen Stadium?

With major College Football Playoff and Big Ten conference implications on the line, the No. 1Oregon Ducks host the unranked Maryland Terrapins on Saturday at 4 p.m. PT.

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