Oregon Ducks' Dan Lanning Opens Up About Ohio State Rose Bowl Loss

Known for their frank interviews with popular college football figures, former NFL players Taylor Lewan and Will Compton traveled to to interview Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning about his thoughts following Oregon's Rose Bowl loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning looks down during the second half as the Oregon Ducks face the Ohio State Buckeyes Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in the quarterfinal of the College Football Playoff at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For the Oregon Ducks, the 2024 season was marked by incredible highs and some disappointing lows. Until the College Football Playoff, Oregon had racked up their first 13-0 season as well as their first Big Ten Championship.

However, that 41-21 loss in the 2025 Rose Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes stands alongside those accomplishments and continues to haunt Duck fans.

That loss also continues to impact Oregon coach Dan Lanning. Lanning opened up about how that loss lingers on a recent episode of the "Bussin' with the Boys" podcast with former athletes and hosts Taylor Lewan and Will Compton. To Lanning, Oregon's Rose Bowl loss is a form of tough medicine.

Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning watches from the sideline during the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Ohio State Buckeyes at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. Ohio State won 41-21. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“That medicine, I wake up every night about that medicine," Lanning said. "We struggled early on beating Washington when I first started here. We were able to get over that hump. We were able to beat them this past season. Right now, I wake up thinking about that Rose Bowl game. Didn’t do it the way I wanted to do it, so it motivates me. It makes me hungry to go back to work.”

When asked to dive into the mental aspect of being down 34-8 in the first half against the Buckeyes, Lanning faced both hosts and immediately uttered "Whew, tough."

Lanning admitted the Buckeyes did things on the field Oregon wasn't prepared to counteract. With the running back double threat of Quinshon Judkins and Traeveyon Henderson, along with the seemingly uncatchable nature of wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, the Ducks seemed shell-shocked.

"On the same note, in the middle of the game, what am I saying, 'Hey, I remember Georgia-Alabama game earlier this year it wasn't close man but those guys came back in the second half,'" Lanning said.

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Lanning claims he left Pasadena with a mindset of never letting the same result happen again.

“Ohio State is an unbelievable team - really well coached. Coach Day did an unbelievable job this year. But they’re gonna have a ton of guys drafted. They’ve had a lot of success, and so have we. We had a lot of guys go on to the next level. There are things that they did in that game that we didn’t prepare our players well for," Lanning said.

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates a first down catch during the second half of the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. Ohio State won 41-21. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"If you're motivated the right way, those moments are growth moments," Lanning continued.

When Lewan and Compton inquired about the break between Oregon's Big Ten Championship victory and the Rose Bowl and that layoff's affect on the team, Lanning started with the statement that he would "never make an excuse" for how his team performed.

"There's certainly things that you'd say 'okay, how can I do things different, preparing for that moment,'" Lanning said. "It's a lot different when you're playing a game every single week and I think there's a lot of things that college football is still trying to figure out. I think there's a reason the NFL playoffs are the way they are. There's a lot of people doing playoffs for a long time in a lot of sports. It feels like we decided we're always going to do it a little bit different."

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