The majority of Oregon fans still feel the heartbreak of last year’s playoff collapse. They had already beaten Ohio State in Week 7 of the 2024 regular season. Yet, they were simply victims of that brutal first-round bye. One year later, Dan Lanning isn’t risking a repeat after learning the hard way. Additionally, Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers better be paying attention.

“Certainly some lessons learned from last year, having 25 days off before the Rose Bowl,” said Dan Lanning, as per Ducks insider Zachary Neel on December 7.

He added that Oregon will take “a little bit of a different approach this year.”

Looks like Dan Lanning’s finally learned his lesson. The Ducks had a massive 25-day break between their final regular-season game and the bowl game against Ohio State. That long layoff last year really seemed to mess up their rhythm. Oregon was the top team in the country and totally undefeated heading into the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

But Ohio State just came out firing, leading 34-0 at halftime. It was a challenging game that ended 41-21 in favor of the Buckeyes.

Lanning even admitted afterward that he didn’t do a good enough job preparing his players for the long break and the game itself. The former Saban coaching student took the blame for himself. He’s promised that Oregon will take a “little bit of a different approach” this time around to ensure they’re sharp and ready.

This season, the situation is a bit different, and arguably better for avoiding “rust.” The Indiana Hoosiers snatched the No. 1 seed from Ryan Day’s Buckeyes with a 13-10 win over the weekend in the Big 10 title game. With the dub comes the curse. Curt Cignetti should schedule wisely to avoid becoming Ducks 2.0.

Meanwhile, Oregon is the No. 5 seed in the new expanded playoff format. They have a first-round home game against No. 12 James Madison coming up this Saturday. This means they only have a two-week break instead of the nearly four weeks they had last year. This shorter turnaround should help them stay in a game-ready mindset.

Lanning hasn’t revealed all the secret details, but the goal is to keep the players focused and healthy. They need enough time to heal up from the usual bumps and bruises of a long season, but not so much time that they get bored, lose their edge, or fall into a slump.

It sounds like he’s going to tweak the practice schedule and overall routine to make sure the team starts strongly when the whistle blows against James Madison. The real question is: with rust and intelligent time management, can Oregon go all the way and win the natty?

Can the Oregon Ducks finally win the whole thing this year?

Yes, absolutely, they can. They are one of the top contenders in the country, possessing the talent to succeed. The odds are pretty good for them, sitting around +900 or +1000.

While they aren’t the absolute top favorites (that would be Ohio State with +225 and Indiana +250), it’s safe to say the Ducks are the fourth-best team in the playoffs. Many experts actually think this year’s team is even better than the undefeated squad from last season.

This team has a great shot because they are explosive and well-coached by Dan Lanning. The Ducks lead the nation with 20+ gains on offense. The defense isn’t half bad either, one of the strongest the program has ever seen.

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The only issue in this defense is stopping the run right at the line and preventing the red zone scoring (allowing a touchdown on 75% of red zone trips, 129th nationally). If they can fix those two things, they become incredibly hard to beat.

With the win over James Madison (most likely), they’ll likely face No. 4-ranked Texas Tech, and possibly Ohio State or Indiana afterward. It’s a tough road, no doubt, but the new format gives them a clear shot. With the “lessons learned” from last year’s playoff loss fresh in their minds, this Oregon team can do it better this time.