Another week wraps up, with a different set of storylines churning out. The college football was glued to three interesting matchups over the weekend. Oregon vs Penn State, Washington vs Ohio State, and Georgia vs Alabama. And amid all that sweet chaos, another set of records floated up on the surface, and Dan Lanning is all smiles. The reason? He beat his mentor Kirby Smart in the latest matchup.
Before the weekend mania, Georgia had a stacked home record. Over the years, the Dawgs remained unbeaten in Athens, with the home streak running at 33 games. Next came the Washington Huskies, who had a 22-game home streak, linked since 2022. Questions had loomed large, if they could beat the defending national champions on their home turf. However, the Huskies’ roar was not enough to intimidate Julian Sayin’s offense. A long streak of 22 home-winning matchups concluded on the weekend, as the Buckeyes beat Washington, 24-6. Hours later, Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama delivered the knockout blow in Athens, toppling Georgia 24-21 and ending the Bulldogs’ reign at home.
With the two longest active streaks erased, Oregon suddenly found itself on top. Lanning’s Ducks had just secured a gritty 30-24 road win over James Franklin’s Penn State. However, the White Out victory is not related to the new record, but it was the collapse of Georgia and Washington that cleared the path. Eugene now holds college football’s longest active home winning streak, an honor that once belonged to Lanning’s old boss. “Lost in the craziness of the day: Both Washington and Georgia lost at home on Saturday. What does that mean? Oregon now holds the nation’s longest active home-winning streak in the nation at 18 games,” Ducks’ Insider Zachary Neel shared on X.
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Even Pat McAfee was all fired up with the developments over the weekend. “Alabama goes into Georgia and breaks a 33 home-game winning streak. And Oregon goes into a NIGHT WHITEOUT in Happy Valley and STEALS A HUGE WIN. College football is the greatest,” he wrote on X.
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Before taking up the head coach role at Eugene. Dan Lanning coached the Dawgs for several seasons under Kirby Smart. In 2018, he was hired as outside linebackers coach and later promoted to the position of defensive coordinator. During his tenure as the DC, the Bulldogs won the 2021 National Championship. Though it wasn’t only in Athens, both coaches worked together. Back in 2015, when Smart worked under legendary Nick Saban as the defensive coordinator, Lanning was a graduate assistant at Alabama.
In addition to dethroning Georgia and Washington on Saturday, Dan Lanning’s roster made another big splash at Beaver Stadium.
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The Ducks beat the Nittany Lions again
The Beaver Stadium, draped in full white, witnessed another high-stakes clash, which was capped off by Dillon Thieneman intercepting Drew Allar’s pass in the second overtime. The Oregon beat Penn State yet again, 30-24. Last campaign, they beat the Nittany Lions 45-37 during the Big 10 National Championship game.
Dante Moore completed 29-of-39 attempts, completing 248 yards and three touchdowns, with a QB rating of 80.7. No interceptions or turnovers were recorded; however, the roster accumulated four penalties for 34 yards. Although the Ducks’ home turf, Autzen Stadium’s loud takeoff is pretty popular, Beaver Stadium proves no less challenging. Linebacker Bryce Boettcher made a comparison. “I give Autzen the cake, but that was no joke,” the LB said per Zachary Neel’s tweet.
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The head coach had a comment reserved for the 111,015 fans who were present, recording the second-largest crowd assembled in Beaver Stadium’s history. “This is a huge growth moment for our entire team,” said Lanning to the press. “Because that crowd’s probably worth seven points, and they really weren’t tonight….The only time we really struggled was when we beat ourselves. We said it was going to be a battle. We had to figure out what worked, but they handled this environment.”