Dan Lanning’s team survived Penn State and their white out crowd in their 30-24 overtime win. It’s a perfect comeback for the team who lost their playoff shot even after going 12-0 in the regular season after losing to Ohio State. The Ducks are back as they secured a win in front of 111,015 fans, and turned the stadium into Unhappy Valley. Now, with that win, Oregon looks like the perfect playoff contender. But one major roadblock might thwart their chances like last year. And that’s Indiana. If Lanning’s squad overcomes them, there’s no one who can stop their undefeated regular season run.

Winning against Penn State’s defense is not that straight, as they held up Dante Moore to his lowest passer rating of 153.2 and quarterback rating of 80.7 this season. On top of that, their defense made zero penalties in the game, limiting Oregon’s 3rd down conversion rate to just 33%. That means they only completed 6 out of 18 of them. But despite all of it, they couldn’t stop the run as the Ducks put up 176 yards with a touchdown against Penn State. Now, if that doesn’t make them a playoff contender, then what will?

That’s exactly why analyst Andy Staples didn’t hold back his praise for Dan Lanning’s team on Yahoo Sports but also gave a subtle warning. “So, Oregon, interesting road here because in two weeks they play Indiana at home. That’s probably their biggest challenge remaining on this schedule. If they beat Indiana, they should probably be undefeated. And it’s funny because I said, “Oh, nobody’s going to be 12-0 anymore. If they beat Indiana, they’re probably be 12-0,” Staples said. He’s not alone as even ESPN’s Bill Connelly gives them the highest odds of 25% to have a 12-0 season this year.

Well, never say never because Curt Cignetti’s team is also having their name heard in playoff conversations after winning against Illinois. And Andy Staples’s words make sense, as, apart from Indiana, there’s no team that can hold Oregon’s run. There are teams like Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Washington in the list that might not stand that strong in front of the Ducks. But Hoosiers are tough. Despite facing a crazy crowd in Kinnick Stadium, they didn’t flinch.

Fernando Mendoza went in throwing for 233 yards, and Nico Radicic recorded 2 field goals. What made it an easy win for them was Iowa’s rookie mistakes, like Drew Stevens missing a 42-yard field goal when they had a chance to break the 13-13 tie. So, if Oregon avoids such mistakes and forces a strong defense against Indiana, they might become a serious playoff contender this year.

Their offense already has key playmakers like RB Dierre Hill Jr., who rushed for 82 yards on 10 carries with a TD. Hill’s 8.2 yards per carry was the top stat of the game, including Penn State’s players. Now, if we were to really play devil’s advocate, there can be some issues going up against Iowa in their home, but apart from that, Indiana remains their only competition, as Steven Godfrey points straight at it and says, “They have to shout out another game from yesterday. Then they have the Iowa-shaped problem that we described for the Hoosiers, which is that when you go to Iowa City, you often have to become Iowa to survive it.”

Dan Lanning’s blunt shot at Penn State

The Oregon Ducks did put up a strong game against Penn State, as both teams were tied 3-3 till 3:15 minutes left in the third quarter, but it was Dante Moore who threw an 8-yard touchdown pass straight at Dierre Hill Jr., which gave them a lead of 10-3 against Penn State. And Dan Lanning couldn’t hold back his praise for his team as he said after the game, “I’m as proud as I’ve been of our team playing well on both sides of the ball. The score didn’t maybe indicate that in the first half with our offense, but the defense played really well in the first. In the second half, the offense really picked it up.

But only if he would have stopped at just praising his own team. After the game Dan Lanning made sure that the stadium packed with Penn State’s fans remembers Oregon’s dominance. His move? Putting up a story on his IG account with a picture of the game with the song “Mo Bamba.” With a caption that reads, “My New Favorite Song.”

Now, this might look normal, but the backstory cuts straight into Penn State’s heart. As the song is traditionally used by them during all their home game events or used on such intense occasions. It’s pretty clear that this win meant a lot to Dan Lanning. So, let’s just wait and see if Andy Staples’ prediction turns out right or if they end up missing out on the playoffs once again.