Has Oregon Ducks' Dan Lanning Peaked? Analyst Predicts National Championship

With the 2024 season and a disappointing 41-21 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl behind the Oregon Ducks, the future is bright. After accomplishing the first ever 13-0 regular season record and a first-time Big Ten Conference Title, many fans and analysts are confident Oregon coach Dan Lanning and the Ducks will return in upcoming years better than ever.

For On3 Sports analyst J.D. Pickell, that confidence translates to a future College Football National Championship win. Or at least, that's what he predicts will happen.

In his latest podcast episode of "The Hard Count" on Monday, Pickell elaborated on his thoughts towards the Ducks' future. He argued that Lanning, only in his third year at Oregon, has yet to hit his peak. Pickell thinks the 2025 Stallings Award winner is on his way to be a National Champion coach very soon.

Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning celebrates Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, during the Big Ten Championship game between the Oregon Ducks and the Penn State Nittany Lions at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Ducks defeated the Nittany Lions, 45-37. | Grace Smith/Indianapolis Star / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Dan Lanning, every year at Oregon as the head coach, steadily just increases in terms of what they do on the field. More wins every single year. When you look at the trend, who's to say that Dan Lanning has peaked at Oregon just yet? Who's to say he's peaked as a head coach? He's still new to this," Pickell said.

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Speaking of being new to the head coaching game, there's been much debate over how long a college coach needs to be with a program until he reaches a National Championship win. However, when compared with his peers, Lanning isn't far off from their own milestones.

"It took Ryan Day six years to win a national title. It took Kirby Smart six years to win a national title. It's very, very hard to do, and I've made this point before, but I just think when you look at Dan Lanning and what he is as a head coach, he just does all the things that are required to win at the highest level," Pickell said.

Lanning's resume is already impressive. As previously mentioned, the Ducks became the Big Ten Conference Champion in their first year with the conference. Lanning's overall coaching wins and loss record is 35-6, going 2-1 in bowl games, and 0-1 in College Football Playoff games.

Jan 1, 2025; Pasadena, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning during a timeout in the first quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Each year, Lanning has improved on each regular season record starting with a 9-3 record, improving to 11-1, and finally finishing his third year with Oregon off with a historic 13-0 record. With that kind of growth, Pickell's prediction doesn't feel too far off.

Of course, Lanning himself put it best when the Ducks were slated to face Ohio State in the 2024 Rose Bowl.

“Winning a national championship isn’t supposed to be easy," Lanning said on ESPN's College Football Playoff rankings reveal show.

Winning the national championship is not supposed to be easy indeed, but more and more analysts think this Duck can do it.