A slim smile escaped Dan Lanning’s lips as the third-year head coach sat in front of the media after No. 1 Oregon (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten) waltzed through a 49-21 Senior Night beatdown of the Washington Huskies.
“We’ve said it several times,” Lanning said. “[It’s] being able to play our best ball at the end of the season when it matters most. I think everybody can recognize that college football is hard. It’s tough to be resilient and consistent and win some tight games. I think that really shows some of the character of our team.”
When Oregon walked out of Camp Randall Stadium after playing the Wisconsin Badgers two weeks ago, it was one of those tight games. It didn’t have some of the players who were linchpins of the Ducks’ success. It didn’t matter. Oregon prevailed.
After eight weeks of punishing football, Oregon was finally afforded the opportunity to manage its wounds, look back at 11 weeks of near-perfect football and take a look at the week ahead. It brought back key players. It capitalized on opportunity against Washington.
On Friday, the Ducks board their flight to Indianapolis as beneficiaries of a well-timed break. They will roll into Lucas Oil Stadium refreshed, recharged and ready for a postseason that will test their limits.
The difference? Opponents Penn State (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten) are what Oregon was two weeks ago: Six weeks on from its bye, banged up and hurting. The No. 3 Nittany Lions are missing tackle Anthony Donkoh. Quarterback Drew Allar (18 TD, 5 INT) has been banged up all year. Yes, they held Ohio State to just 20 points (the Ducks allowed them 31) in a top-five loss in State College, but they’re not healthy, nor rested.
Oregon is.
Notably, the winner of Saturday’s matchup is granted yet another break. The loser will likely claim the No. 5 seed in the final College Football Playoff poll and host a Round 1 game two weeks later.
Meanwhile, the champion will almost certainly be awarded the No. 1 or No. 2 seeds and the first-round bye that comes with it. They won’t play until Dec. 31, at the earliest — an extra nine days of rest.
For a team rolling off an undefeated season of football, about to play more games than any have in the modern playoff era, the break is invaluable. The national champion will end the year on a run of at least four matchups with playoff-caliber opponents — punishing games like the ones these teams have learned to endure. The healthiest team often wins.
Defensive end Jordan Burch was part of an school-record-tying 10 sack performance against Washington. Oregon’s star pass-rusher suffered an injury in practice ahead of Oregon’s win over Ohio State and slipped in and out of the trainer’s room down the stretch. The Ducks replaced him with ample production from second-year edges Matayo Uiagalelei and Teitum Tuioti (10.5 and 5.5 sacks in 2024, respectively), but Burch’s full return was long-awaited.
He showed up on Saturday night to the tune of 2.5 sacks and three tackles. He ranks fourth in the conference, with 8.5 on the season. No other player in the top 33 has played fewer than 10 games — Burch played in eight.
“It felt amazing to be back out with my teammates,” the senior said afterward. “Being hurt and just watching them play — it hurts you deep down. I’ve got full confidence in what they can do, and it all came together tonight.”
The value of getting those players back cannot be overstated. The Ducks’ signature win this year came without Burch and without Gary Bryant Jr. They’ve won without Tez Johnson, without Marcus Harper II and without Terrance Ferguson. All will likely play in Indianapolis. That matters.
The break matters just as much. Mentally and physically, it’s a chance to reset. Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel believes it. He was without his best weapon, Johnson, since the junior exited Oregon’s win over Michigan in the first quarter. The senior receiver returned to action against the Huskies.
Without Johnson, Gabriel averaged 231 passing yards per game and a 67.76% completion rate. It’s well below his average in games featuring Johnson: 286 passing yards and a 75.69% completion percentage.
Two of those games are in Gabriel’s bottom three for completion percentage this season (the outlier, at Wisconsin, ranks No. 6), and just one of the four touchdown passes he threw went for more than nine yards. Johnson’s ability to take the top off defenses (he has touchdown receptions for 52, 48 and 31 yards among his nine scores this season) is invaluable to an Oregon group that values its “haymaker” just as much as its “jab” — terms Lanning used in a recap video released by the program.
“It’s good,” Gabriel said, “I think more than playing. I think it helps with overall morale — his lively energy [too]. You get the ball in his hands and there’s a lot that comes with that, but we love Tez. We need him. He’s a big part of what we do.”
The two were reunited at Autzen Stadium last weekend to the tune of three connections for 36 yards and a score. As time expired, Johnson stood behind the line — and suddenly, inverted. The receiver on a comeback mission was doing backflips. The worries evaporated.
He played his time on the sideline down after the game with a smirk.
“It wasn’t nothing,” he said. “A little veteran’s break. I’m back now.”
That’s what Oregon just got. A little veteran’s break for one of the most experienced, rested and dangerous teams in college football.
They’re back now. It’s time to go.
