Indiana's National Title Win Keeps Unique Streak Alive For Oregon's Dan Lanning

The Indiana Hoosiers defeated the Miami Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff National Championship by a final score of 27-21, securing their first national title in program history.

For the second straight season, the only team the Oregon Ducks lost to ended up winning the whole thing.

Oregon's Losses Under Dan Lanning

Oregon Ducks Dan Lanning Indiana Hoosiers National Championship College Football Playoff Miami Hurricanes Big Ten Conference — Oct 11, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning shakes hands with Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti after Indiana defeated Oregon by the score of 30-20 at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Over the past two seasons, the Oregon Ducks have lost just three total games. Last season, they went 13-1 with their only loss being to the eventual national champion Ohio State Buckeyes in the CFP quarterfinal.

This season, Oregon went 13-2 overall with their only two losses coming to the national champion Hoosiers. Indiana went into Autzen Stadium in October, knocking off the Ducks 30-20. A few months later in the playoff semifinal, Indiana won the rematch 56-22.

Since Dan Lanning took over as head coach of the Ducks in 2022, they have an overall record of 48-8. Not only has Oregon only lost the the eventual national champion in the past two seasons, but in 2023 Oregon also went 12-2 with both losses coming to the national runner up Washington Huskies.

With Lanning, Oregon has consistently beat teams they should beat and their only losses have come to some of the best teams in the country. That streak continued with Indiana’s win over Miami.

In Lanning's first season in Eugene in 2022, Oregon lost three games. One was to the eventual national champion Georgia Bulldogs and the other two were to 10-win Oregon State and 11-win Washington.

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Big Ten Dominance

The Big Ten is establishing themselves as the best conference in the country. Indiana’s title win marked the third straight season a Big Ten team has won the national championship. Furthermore, it has been a different Big Ten team each season; the Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State Buckeyes, and Indiana Hoosiers. Oregon hopes to join this group next season as the fourth different Big Ten team in a row to win a national title.

College football was ran by the SEC prior to this for decades, but this new era of NIL and the transfer portal has clearly changed the hierarchy. Since the Georgia Bulldogs won the national championship in the 2022-2023 season, there has not been a single SEC team to even make the national championship game.

There is a strong argument to make that this season, the top three teams in the Big Ten (Indiana, Ohio State, and Oregon) were all better than any SEC team. The only SEC team to make it to the semifinal this year were the Ole Miss Rebels.

Outside of Ohio State, Indiana, and Oregon are a handful of other Big Ten programs that could very well be in contention for a playoff run next season. The Michigan Wolverines just hired former Utah Utes coach Kyle Whittingham and should be much improved. The Penn State Nittany Lions hired former Iowa State Cyclones coach Matt Campbell and could also be a team in playoff contention next season.

Then there are the USC Trojans and Washington Huskies. These two former Pac-12 schools along with Oregon have a high enough ceiling to compete with the best of them.