Oregon coach Dan Lanning’s No. 5 Ducks were blown out 56-22 by the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers in the Peach Bowl on Friday. They missed out on a chance to play the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes in the national championship game and finished the season with a respectable 13-2 record.
The Ducks, led by quarterback Dante Moore, committed three costly turnovers in the first half, all of which resulted in Indiana touchdowns, including a pick-six in the first 11 seconds of the game. The Hoosiers put the hammer down and managed five touchdowns in 30 minutes to cruise to a Peach Bowl win.
Micah Parsons Blasts Dan Lanning’s Oregon for Ugly Loss
It was Oregon’s second ugly loss in the College Football Playoff after trailing the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes 34-0 at halftime of the Rose Bowl last season, ultimately losing 41-21 to the eventual champions.
After the game, in a brutal tweet on X, Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons blasted the manner in which Lanning’s team lost the Peach Bowl despite having a talented roster assembled with considerable NIL funding.
“This is a terrible look for Oregon! I can’t lie, a loss like this with a team that NIL rostered TEAM?!” Parsons tweeted.
The Ducks are highly backed by funds from, among others, Nike founder Phil Knight, who is an alumnus of the institution. In the past few seasons, Lanning has had public spats with former Oklahoma State Cowboys coach Mike Gundy and Georgia Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart about the resources available to him at Oregon.
Lanning Bemoans Indiana’s Hot Start
During his postgame news conference, Lanning was in awe of Indiana’s fast start during the game, and the Ducks coach broke down how coach Curt Cignetti’s team demolished his team in the Peach Bowl.
“I said it before that they’re an unbelievably well-coached team. They started off hot, and they really didn’t slow down,” Lanning said. “They were able to run it and have success. Their defense played outstanding. We were able to generate a little momentum at times, but we were so far in the hole that you really couldn’t create yourself out of that.
“The takeaways, obviously, they were able to create some. We didn’t create those. They won average starting field position throughout the night. Their special teams were special. You see a really complete team.”
Despite being eliminated from national championship contention in blowout losses in two consecutive years, Lanning has built Oregon into a consistent contender for the biggest prize in college football. Their defense is ranked 11th in PFSN’s CFB Defense Impact Metric with a score of 86.5.
