PASADENA, Calif. — As scarlet and gray confetti fell on the storied grass at the Rose Bowl, Oregon football coach Dan Lanning didn’t leave the field until he had hugged every player as they exited the field into the tunnel following the Ducks‘ 41-21 loss to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
Lanning rarely spoke more than a few words and offered just a couple of pats to each player before taking one last look at the scene in front of him and departing the field himself.
Tez Johnson, visibly emotional following the game, took the time to approach fans after the game and thank them for their support and shake hands of fans in the front rows.
“I feel like I failed,” Johnson said in the locker room following the game. “I just love the fans, man. To play here, I got my dream to be able to come true. I can’t ask for nothing more.”
The Ducks played their worst game of the season at the worst time, trailing 34-0 in the blink of an eye before a too-little, too-late comeback attempt in the second half. Oregon was outgained in yardage 500-276, had minus-23 rushing yards and gave 8.8 yards per play to a Buckeye offense that did anything it wanted all evening long.
You could hear a pin drop in the locker room following the game. Some players itched to leave as quickly as possible while others made the rounds and hugged everyone they could.
After earning the No. 1 overall seed in the College Football Playoff following an undefeated regular season, and the first Big Ten title in its history in its first season in the conference, Oregon was blasted by an Ohio State team that looked better prepared, more motivated and more sound.
“I came back to win something worth winning,” tight end Terrance Ferguson said. “God let me back to Eugene again, and we didn’t do that. Obviously that is disappointing because that’s the goal, and everyone came in with that goal and we set that goal early in the season. We chased it and played it all the way through.”
But Ferguson was quick to reflect that he didn’t regret returning for his senior season to chase a championship, citing his new relationship with quarterback Dillon Gabriel and that he and others are now lifelong friends.
“It’s not a disappointing season,” Ferguson said. “I played a lot with these guys and became a better football player. I met a lot of guys that I never would have met if I didn’t come back. Those relationships are what make it special.”
Bryce Boettcher, who has never been afraid to speak his mind throughout the season and has been the emotional heartbeat of Oregon’s defense, said Wednesday’s loss will “piss me off for awhile.”
“I don’t want to discredit what we had this season as a team and a brotherhood,” Boettcher said. “I was telling some people that what you have in the locker room, 20 years down the road that’s going to pay off dividends. You aren’t going to remember the games, You’re going to remember some plays maybe, but for the most part it’s the relationships.”
Lanning, who took responsibility for the loss along with his staff, kept it simple at the podium following the disappointing loss for the one-time national title-contending Ducks.
“There’s disappointment,” Lanning said. “But I talked to the team about life in that locker room and how grateful I am for the opportunity to coach this team. I love these guys. And they put it all out on the field for us, blood, sweat and tears.
“It’s not about getting knocked down, it’s about getting back up and what you do next.”
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @AlecDietz.
