Scoreboard Says Blowout, Lanning Says Wake-Up Call: Why Oregon’s CFP Win Over JMU Felt Like a Warning Date: December 21, 2025 Location: Eugene, Ore.
If you only checked the final score on your phone, you might think Dan Lanning slept soundly on Saturday night.
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Why Oregon’s CFP Win Over JMU Felt Like a Warning
The scoreboard at Autzen Stadium read Oregon 51, James Madison 34. The No. 5 Ducks had just punched their ticket to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, dispatching the Group of Five darlings with an offensive explosion that, on paper, looked like a statement. Quarterback Dante Moore accounted for five touchdowns. The offense racked up over 500 yards. The “survive and advance” box was checked with a flourish.
But Dan Lanning wasn’t celebrating. In fact, the Oregon head coach sounded more like a man who had just narrowly escaped a disaster than one who had just won his first playoff game in Eugene by three possessions.
“There’s a standard here,” Lanning said, his tone clipped during the post-game press conference. “There’s certainly a standard for performance. Our players know that. They know what championship football looks like, and the second half didn’t look like that.”
College Football Playoff: The Tale of Two Teams
Lanning’s frustration stems from a Jekyll-and-Hyde performance that saw the Ducks look like national title favorites for 30 minutes, only to resemble a team asleep at the wheel for the final 30.
The first half was a masterclass. Oregon scored on its first five possessions. They led 48-13 midway through the third quarter, turning the highly anticipated matchup into a rout. The “pyrotechnics” Lanning promised were on full display, with Moore dissecting the JMU secondary and the Autzen crowd sensing an easy path to the Orange Bowl.
Then, the adrenaline wore off, and the sloppiness set in.
The Dukes, refusing to fold, outscored Oregon 21-3 down the stretch. They exposed cracks in an Oregon secondary that had looked invincible early on, racking up nearly 300 passing yards and forcing the Ducks to keep their starters in the game far longer than Lanning would have liked.
“To not be able to come out and have the same success in the second half that we had in the first half is certainly disappointing,” Lanning admitted. “I think our players will certainly learn from that.”
The Perfectionist’s Dilemma
For Lanning, the win over James Madison wasn’t just about advancing; it was a stress test for a team with national championship aspirations. In the expanded 12-team playoff, “good enough” is often the enemy of “great.”
The specific gripes from the Oregon locker room were clear:
- Defensive Lapses: Allowing a Sun Belt team to post 34 points and over 400 yards of offense is a red flag, especially with the high-powered offense of Texas Tech waiting in the quarterfinals.
- Turnovers & Penalties: Dante Moore, despite his brilliance, threw a late interception that Lanning characterized simply as “not good.”
- Killer Instinct: The inability to put the game on ice when leading by 35 points speaks to a lack of focus—a trait that teams like Georgia or Ohio State would punish ruthlessly.
“The team realizes this is a growth moment for us,” Lanning said, spinning the negatives into a motivational tool. “But we’re going to have to play better football to be able to reach our goals when it’s all said and done.”
The “Distraction” Factor
Adding to the tension is the elephant in the room: the coaching carousel. With offensive coordinator Will Stein reportedly headed to Kentucky and defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi taking the head job at Cal, the Ducks are navigating the playoffs with a coaching staff that has one foot out the door.
Lanning dismissed the idea that the departures affected the game plan, but the disjointed second half will undoubtedly fuel speculation. Can this staff keep the team focused for three more games while packing their offices?
Looking Ahead to the Orange Bowl
The Ducks now turn their eyes to Miami, where they will face the No. 4 seed Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day.
Texas Tech possesses one of the most lethal passing attacks in the country. If Oregon’s secondary plays the way it did in the fourth quarter against James Madison, their stay in South Beach will be short.
Lanning knows this. It’s why he didn’t smile when the confetti fell on Saturday. He knows that in the College Football Playoff, a 17-point win can sometimes feel like a loss—and that the next time they take their foot off the gas, there won’t be a next week.
“It’s bittersweet,” Lanning concluded. “But at the end of the day, we won the football game.”
For now, that has to be enough. But come January 1st, it won’t be.
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