Oregon lost to Indiana for the 2nd time this season in the College Football Playoff. Oregon lost 56-22 to Indiana in the College Football Quarterfinals. This is the 2nd year in a row that they were beaten badly in the College Football Playoff, as Ohio State killed them in the Rose Bowl last year. Head Coach Dan Lanning has compiled a remarkable 48-8 record so far in Oregon. Still, the last two seasons ended with lopsided losses.
Offseason Checklist 1: Figure out how to finish the season strong
Oregon started 13-0 last year but was badly beaten by Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. Oregon began 13-1 and was badly beaten by Indiana. They also lost twice to Indiana this season. Once at home and once at the College Football Playoffs.
Something is off with your program when you are successful all year and two years in a row, you get blown out. The ebbs and flows of College Football happen, but two blowout losses two seasons in a row are unacceptable. Lanning has proven that he can build a top program, but he needs to figure out how not get outclassed in these College Football Playoff games.
Offseason Checklist 2: Implement two new coordinators into this program
Dan Lanning has a common occurrence that most top coaches eventually deal with: he is losing both his coordinators. Offensive Coordinator Will Stein got the Kentucky Head Coaching position, and Defensive Coordinator Tosh Lupoi got the California job. Both did a great job and are now onto being 1st time head coaches.
Lanning decided to promote from within as the next coordinators. He promoted Drew Mehringer to offensive coordinator and Chris Hampton to defensive coordinator. For the offensive coordinator, this is a new occurrence for Lanning because the last time he lost an offensive coordinator, he hired Stein from UTSA, where he was a successful offensive coordinator. Lupoi was on the original staff as well. Both Mehringer and Hampton feel like they have the pedigree to do well, but it is a risk hiring two coaches whom you just promoted from within. Time will tell if Lanning made the right hires.
Offseason Checklist 3: Transfer Portal Needs
***** Before I go over the portal, Oregon got a commitment from Dylan Raiola. Raiola is a two-year starter at Nebraska. Currently, we do not know if starting quarterback Dante Moore is coming back. Raiola could be the starter next season, or it has been reported that he would be willing to redshirt and sit behind Moore next season. Moore did the same thing after transferring from UCLA, as he sat for a year.
The Ducks also already added a premier defensive back in Minnesota safety Koi Perich.
Wide Receiver: The leading receiver on Oregon was tight end Kenyon Sadiq. Sadiq is a talented player, but a wide receiver should lead your team in receptions. Leading Wide receivers Malik Benson and Jeremiah McClellan are both coming back, but they could use another wide receiver with big play potential. Evan Stewart missed the entire season with an injury, so he should be back next year. They still could use some help at wide receiver.
Linebacker: Oregon needs help at linebacker. They could add 2-3 players to the roster. They lost starting linebacker Bryce Boettcher to graduation. Adding experience to this group would be imperative.
Offensive line: Oregon’s offensive line struggled during the Indiana playoff game. They could add some players to help because they are losing two starters in Isaiah World and Alex Harkey. You can see 1-2 offensive lineman to the mix.