The Big 10 stars at Eugene are all set to begin a productive fall camp, which will hopefully help them recreate last season’s wondrous run. “That ring, man. That ring,” Dan Lanning said at an appearance for Bussin’ With The Boys, yearning for that coveted National Championship trophy. It’s natural for the vibe at Eugene to be like that, considering how close they came to winning the title. Now, the 2025 season is going to be a different challenge for Lanning. Which is why he has a unique strategy in place to ensure success this year.

Dan Lanning would be among the top college football coaches if he had won the Natty last year. An unbeaten run in the Big 10, the conference title, and a National Title – the trifecta would be completed for the Oregon HC in his 3 year as HC. Despite being knocked out by Ohio State, Oregon is gearing up to continue the momentum from 2024. However, it’s safe to say that the Ducks achieved a lot of great things last year. That’s why Dan Lanning wants to knock the players off their horses a little, to continue the grind.

“You look at competitive sports, you look at guys that have a lot of success, and a lot of it comes on with, you know, competition, anxiety, right? And then, lack of confidence. That’s where people fail. So our goal within fall camp is how can we create the same anxiety you have on game day? How can we make practice look as much as possible like a game? And how can we build confidence in what guys do well? And that’s part of our job as coaches,” Lanning said at Oregon’s preseason media day.

The Ducks’ HC is using a style of reverse psychology to keep his players aware of the environment they’ll be playing in. “It’s about having belief in players that the next play is the most important play. And our guys, you know, when they get their fuel from internally, intrinsically rather than externally, I think that’s when they perform their best. So that’s really the goal this fall,” he said.

Dan Lanning’s 2025 run is going to be markedly different than last year. That’s especially because of the departure of players like Dillon Gabriel and the loss of WR Evan Stewart. He has a possibly new QB in Dante Moore and a lot more new faces debuting this season. But after consistently churning out great teams during each edition, the ceiling is very high for the success of the 2025 squad. Will Lanning’s strategy help the Ducks produce results?

Dan Lanning confident about Dante Moore and other QBs

A huge reason for Oregon’s magical debut in the Big 10 last year was Dillon Gabriel. He owned that offense and literally broke through all the opponent defenses in the regular season. His absence is going to be felt deeply, regardless of who Dan Lanning picks as the Ducks’ QB1. Dante Moore still has the majority vote from the community, which is hoping that the QB will unleash his 5-star self to help Dan Lanning repeat his proven track record with strong quarterbacks.

He threw some light on the QB1 situation at Eugene at the moment during the Big 10 media days. “They’ve had the chance to watch a Bo Nix operate. They’ve had the chance to watch a Dillon Gabriel operate. So, that’ll be the piece that’s missing, but I’m not concerned about the talent or the decision-making that’s in that room. We just got to get them experience,” This is where the anxiety should come in the QB room. Moore comes with the best package of experience and production among the contenders. 1,610 yards and 11 TDs as a starter are good numbers for a debut season. But we also know how inconsistent Moore turned out to be in that UCLA debut, despite being their biggest recruit.

This is the first time he will be playing for an offense as elite as Oregon’s. Colin Klein is still the OC – Lanning has to make sure his QB1 makes the offense his own, just like his predecessors did. Because it will be designed around the quarterback, like it has all these years. There are a few question marks in that Ducks 2025 squad, but Lanning is confident they will register another brilliant season this year as well.