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QuickTake:
Oregon has discovered a remarkable three-week treatment for football misery. Side effects include confidence, fake punts and a 41-28 win at Ohio State.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Is your stadium suffering from early departures?
Has your offense struggled to perform at home and on the road?
Is the honeymoon with your head coach over?
Does your ranking have two digits?
(Pause for gasp)
Hi, I’m Tyson Alger, Ducks correspondent for Lookout Eugene-Springfield. And it’s important for you, Ohio State fan, to know you’re not alone. Many of us have lost that spark with our football programs before.
It’s nothing to be ashamed of, and I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be forever.
Not with The Lanning Method.
You may ask: What does Oregon’s head coach have to do with this? His Ducks just beat Ohio State 41-28 in front of 100,000-plus of you, shaking off an early 14-0 hole to rattle off 38 consecutive points.
That might be a playoff team!
But believe it or not, they were once like you.
It was all the way back in 2026 when Oregon’s offense cratered after the season-ending injury to Dante Moore. It was a distant and dark time when Dylan Raiola was pulled in a loss to UCLA, when 17 points barely got them past Nebraska at home and they…they…lost to Illinois.
“That was me,” said Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, the inspiration behind The Lanning Method, of the situation Ohio State’s Ryan Day has found himself in. “That was me two weeks ago. Like, you guys felt that in our building, and it’s hard, really, to overcome.
“Because what you do in those moments, you just try harder, harder, harder to fix things, and you can’t fix everything.”
And oh, the Ducks tried hard.
They tried Raiola, Brock Thomas and then Raiola again at quarterback. They ran trick plays to spark the offense, tried to keep their struggles out of the spotlight and played like the weight of a sinking season could be lifted with one perfect play.
But that’s just not The Lanning Method.
The Lanning Method began with trusting a backup quarterback long enough to find his rhythm. Over the last two weeks, Raiola has completed 47 of 71 passes for 593 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Lanning Method saw the Ducks settle on a consistent starting five on the offensive line, a group invigorated by the emergence of hulking freshman left guard Tommy Tofi and hasn’t allowed a sack in two games.
The Lanning Method required hard decisions, such as firing offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer following the Illinois loss and elevating Jay Johnson to call plays. Against Ohio State, Oregon scored five touchdowns, was perfect in the red zone, committed just one false start and didn’t turn the ball over.
Most importantly, The Lanning Method preaches remembering who you are. It was a week ago Lanning’s Ducks didn’t flinch when down 20-6 to Northwestern.
“We got winners in that locker room, and again, that’s not always reflected in the scoreboard,” Lanning said after Oregon came back to beat the Wildcats 34-26.
A week later, the scoreboard read 38-14 when Lanning pointed to it in the fourth quarter following a skirmish along the sideline.
“They were just talking to our team, and, you know, it was, ‘Look at the score,'” said the coach.
Right: Side effects may include sudden bouts of audacity.
The Ducks had that second-quarter, momentum-swinging fake punt in their bag long before Saturday. And sure, they’ve failed with other gimmicks this season. But there’s a difference between using a trick play out of desperation as opposed to dialing one up because you trust what you’ve seen.
“Obviously, if it didn’t work, you guys could have a heyday with me, especially in our own territory,” Lanning said. “But that’s where fakes do work, right? And we felt like we punted a couple times at that point, we’d seen a look, we felt confident, ‘Hey, it’s going to be there.'”
Of course, The Lanning Method isn’t easy. It requires pushing through adversity, doubt and criticism.
But don’t just take our word for it.
Listen to one of its satisfied customers.
“We don’t ever take an L as a loss. We always learn from everything we do, whether it’s good or bad,” said Oregon receiver Dakorien Moore. “Us just staying level definitely carried us all the way through.”
“We’re not worried about the outcome, we’re not. We’re going to go out there, play free, do our thing and whether it’s a win or loss that comes off the board, we’re still going to be connected as a team.”
And oh, what a connection it can be.
Four weeks ago, Oregon fans were filing out of Autzen Stadium early as UCLA celebrated a win.
Saturday, Ohio State fans were the ones heading for the exits, leaving Oregon fans to take over the front rows of the Horseshoe with chants of “Let’s go Ducks!”
The spark was back.
And while results aren’t always immediate, look what three weeks of The Lanning Method have done for Oregon’s season.
Imagine what three more might do?
DISCLAIMER: The Lanning Method may not work without Dan Lanning, who said he’s learned more this season than any other in his career but won’t tell us what any of it was. That may, in fact, be part of The Lanning Method. Please consult with your primary athletic director first. Results may vary.
This story is part of Lookout Eugene-Springfield’s new Sunday Duck Report. For the full report, subscribe to the free newsletter here.
