The popular narrative of Oregon's football history goes like this: the Ducks stunk for much of their early history. In the late 20th century, when alumnus Phil Knight's Nike boomed in its backyard, Oregon began to thrive.
There is some truth in that portrait, but the Ducks' development goes deeper than resources. On Thursday, Oregon coach Dan Lanning found himself insisting upon just that at the Ducks' first-ever Big Ten media days in Indianapolis
"The reality is, find a top-10 team in college football right now that doesn't have great support," Lanning told reporters via Adam Rittenberg of ESPN. "Do we have a lot more than everybody else? I think that'd be an exaggeration or we'd never lose. Everyone else right now is focused on our ice cream cone, and if I'm busy looking at theirs, that means mine's melting."
In the 21st century, Oregon has crossed the .800 winning percentage mark in 10 different seasons after accomplishing the feat six times in the entire 20th century. Only one of those .800 seasons, though, has come since the liberalization of NIL rules in 2021 (the Ducks went 12-2 in 2023).
Much has been made of Oregon's NIL war chest, with Georgia coach Kirby Smart joking at the SEC's media days that he wanted "some of that NIL money (Knight is) giving Dan Lanning."
"Is our situation different than other teams in the nation? Absolutely. Is our team's situation different than the premier teams in the nation? Probably not. And that's OK. We want to be in that (group)," Lanning—who worked under Smart with the Bulldogs from 2018-21—said.
The Ducks are scheduled to open its season on Aug. 31 against Idaho.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dan Lanning Defends Oregon Amid NIL-Related Jabs at Big Ten Media Days.
