Football
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Oregon head coach Dan Lanning wasn’t interested in blaming his team’s draw in the College Football Playoff bracket or an extended layoff after a bye for the Ducks’ 41-21 loss to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday.
“That’s an excuse,” Lanning said, per Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde.
Oregon suffered its first defeat of the season and was eliminated from the CFP.
The Ducks’ 13-0 start gave them the No. 1 seed in the CFP to go along with a first-round bye. Entering Wednesday’s contest, their previous win over Penn State in the Big Ten Championship game occurred on Dec. 7.
Oregon’s offense, which averaged a conference-leading 449.8 yards per game, got off to a sluggish start against the Buckeyes. The Ducks couldn’t get on the board until just before halftime, falling into an early 34-0 hole that they couldn’t overcome.
Ohio State triumphed over Tennessee in the first round of the CFP on Dec. 21, but the team faced a similar layoff before the win. Before defeating the Volunteers, the Buckeyes’ previous game took place against Michigan on Nov. 30.
Oregon’s swift CFP exit is certainly disappointing, although Lanning’s overall tenure with the school is still immensely successful. He owns a 35-6 record since he took over ahead of the 2022 season.
Lanning faced criticism following the lopsided loss to the Buckeyes, but he didn’t want to point towards the Ducks’ layoff as an excuse.
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