Oregon Ducks' Dan Lanning Takes Blame For Loss To Ohio State Buckeyes: 'No Excuses'

The Oregon Ducks were defeated by the Ohio State Buckeyes, 41-21 in the College Football Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl. After the game, Oregon coach Dan Lanning took the blame for the defeat to Big Ten foe Ohio State and coach Ryan Day.

Jan 1, 2025; Pasadena, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning speaks in a press conference after the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2025 Rose Bowl college football quarterfinal game at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

PASADENA - The Oregon Ducks were defeated by the Ohio State Buckeyes, 41-21 in the College Football Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl. The Ducks were dominated by the Buckeyes in every facet of the game and the final stat book displayed that.

After the game, Oregon coach Dan Lanning took the blame for the defeat.

Jan 1, 2025; Pasadena, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning speaks in a press conference after the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2025 Rose Bowl college football quarterfinal game at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"They clicked tonight, we didn't," Lanning said. "I didn't get our team prepared, and that's a great team. When you play a great team like Ohio State, you can't not be clicking on all cylinders. And they were, they were clicking on all cylinders. We didn't really have the ability to stop them and the ability to get something going for us on offense. And we haven't faced a lot of moments like that this year."

The Ducks finish the season 13-1. The Buckeyes will move forward in the playoff and face the Texas Longhorns in the the College Football Playoff semifinals in Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys.

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) scores a touchdown during the first half of the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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"It's an unbelievable team," Lanning continued. "Coach Day and his staff have done an unbelievable job there. Don't wanna discredit what our players have been able to accomplish this year. Very great team. We just ran into a great team tonight and we didn't play our best. So credit to those guys."

Oregon finished with -23 rushing yards and Ohio State totaled 181. Buckeyes freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith shined vs. the Ducks, finishing with 187 yards on seven receptions with two touchdowns. Ohio State quarterback Will Howard threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns while Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel finished with 299 yards and two touchdowns.

Lanning called Smith "NFL ready" after the game.

The Ducks earned the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff and a first-round bye. Lanning was asked the rest vs. rust question about his team... Did the Ducks have too much time off?

"I think that's an excuse. I thought our guys prepared well going in. Obviously they had a better plan than us. But that's an excuse. That's an opportunity that we had to recharge. I thought our guys did practice well. I'd tell you if that wasn't the case. I thought they had a great focus. I just don't think our plan was good enough. I think they had a great plan to attack us. So credit to those guys.'

"I'll say this about our team," Lanning continued. "There wasn't a second we stepped on the field where I felt like our guys were disheartened. They didn't wanna give the effort to go out there and play. I just don't think we had a good enough plan as coaches tonight and we gotta find ways to prepare ourselves for these moments better as a coaching staff."

Jan 1, 2025; Pasadena, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks wide receiver Tez Johnson (15) runs against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the second half in the 2025 Rose Bowl college football quarterfinal game at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The path for the Ducks in the playoff was tougher than other paths. Oregon's draw to face Ohio State while other playoff games have resulted in blow outs have raised questions about potentially changing the playoff format in the future.

"We had an opportunity," Lanning said of Oregon's playoff seeding. "We didn't take advantage of the opportunity. I'm not going to make excuses for our opportunity. And ultimately you have to be great teams to beat teams at the end of the year we didn't do that. This is the road we had to travel. And they did it better than us tonight. No complaints for us for having that opportunity. They just took advantage of it and we didn't."

The loss was the final game for many Oregon seniors, including: quarterback Dillon Gabriel, receiver Tez Johnson, tight end Terrance Ferguson and linebacker Bryce Boettcher.

"I love that team," Lanning said. "I love that team in there. I love what those guys were able to accomplish. And what's tough is when you play great teams at the end of the season, somebody's not gonna come out on top. And those guys came out on top tonight. Obviously, that's a team I think that has the ability to go win it all. So proud of our guys, certainly proud of this season and disappointed in the night."

Oregon will ultimately not reach its ultimate goal of winning a National Championship, but the Ducks did win the Big Ten Championship in their first season in the Big Ten conference and completed an undefeated, 12-0 regular season for the second time in program history.

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