PASADENA, Calif. — It was so quiet in the Oregon locker room you could hear a season end.
Amid the near silence Wednesday night, Ducks cornerback Jabbar Muhammad found himself offering a way-too-early state-of-the union assessment of his program.
“None of us should come out of here with our head held low. We should definitely have our head held high,” the Washington transfer told reporters following Wednesday’s shocking 41-21 loss to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. “We did some things that I feel like were legendary — 13-0, Big Ten champs in our first year.”
Legendary … but not complete.
Oregon started 13-0, won the Big Ten and was No. 1 in the country for 2 ½ months. For now, that’s all just a footnote after a disappointing postseason performance.
A proud program that got run out of the Rose Bowl quicker than an over-served fan had been No. 1 for the first time in 12 years. It had been so long that former Ducks coach Chip Kelly had wound his way around the game long enough to be coaching against his former team for the sixth time.
For the first time in his career, Kelly, now Ohio State’s offensive coordinator, beat the Ducks.
“It would be a shame if this team didn’t get to play one more game,” he said of the Buckeyes.
There was shame of a different type in the opposite locker room. It was fitting that the two richest programs in the country — both projected to be spending $20 million in NIL benefits to assemble their rosters — were separated by a point in their first meeting.
In the second meeting, Ohio State proved it had gotten the most out of its money — by far — in a 20-point victory that was the largest in the Rose Bowl in nine years. If there was an overall College Football Playoff MVP award, Buckeyes star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith would be the frontrunner.
“He’s strong [and] attacks the ball in the air as well as any receiver I’ve seen,” Lanning said. “The guy is NFL-ready. He’s that talented and that special.”
For Oregon, the season ended with the worst two defensive performances in Dan Lanning’s three seasons. The Ducks gave up 518 yards to Penn State in the Big Ten Championship Game before surrendering 500 to Ohio State.
Those were the most yards allowed by the Ducks since Lanning’s debut against Georgia in 2022 (571 yards). Those Ducks were still in their formative stages.
In winning the Big Ten, these Ducks did force their will on their new conference. Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan harkened back to a simpler, more physical time in winning the national championship. Oregon, meanwhile, forced the Big Ten to embrace innovation — whether it be uniform looks, team speed or recruiting.
In finishing 13-1, Lanning fielded one of the quickest teams since the Kelly days. They definitely weren’t the stereotypical Big Ten team.
“We definitely won something worth winning,” tight end Terrance Ferguson said. “We left Oregon a better place than last year. Obviously our goal wasn’t accomplished in the long run.”
In the future, the rest of the conference will have to match up with that speed. But what does that mean now after splitting with Ohio State, who showed it is currently the best team in the league and possibly the country?
“It’s going to stick with me for a while,” Oregon linebacker Bryce Boettcher said. “You play for the postseason and this one pisses me off a little bit.”
“We did, for sure,” wide receiver Tez Johnson said about changing the Big Ten. “Nobody had seen it before. I don’t think anybody stepped out there and said, ‘OK, we can manage these guys …’ “
“What we’ve done has spoken for itself,” quarterback Dillon Gabriel said.
Gabriel was part of that speech pattern. The sixth-year super, super senior fell 496 yards short of Case Keenum for the NCAA’s career passing mark, but Gabriel did tie Case Keenum for the NCAA career record in touchdown passes (155).
Before the game kicked off, however, he and the Ducks found out that their most productive receiver, Evan Stewart, was out because he “got tweaked” in warmups, according to Lanning.
Leading rusher Jordan James was injured and did not play in the second half. Still, there were no excuses.
“They clicked tonight and we didn’t. And I didn’t get our team prepared,” Lanning concluded.
LaMichael James considered what his former team has become before kickoff. The former Oregon All-American and Heisman finalist was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame while he was in Pasadena this week.
“They have just as much as speed as we had … where they’re different at is the trenches. That’s where games are one at this level,” said James, who helped lead the Ducks to the BCS National Championship Game following the 2010 season.
“No slight against SMU, but playing against a Penn State, it’s a trench game. That’s where it really matters when you get to this level.”
When he arrived in 2017, former coach Mario Cristobal made it a point to develop both lines, reflecting his background as an assistant in the SEC. Lanning didn’t have to be told to replicate that strategy.
Of the eight combined starting offensive and defensive linemen Wednesday for the Ducks, two were originally recruited by Cristobal. Center Iapani Laloulu was offered by Cristobal in eighth grade. Right guard Dave Iuli was a 2023 freshman All-American. Five of the eight are transfers. Two are from the Deep South. Defensive end Jordan Burch and defensive lineman Jamaree Caldwell are South Carolina natives.
“Lanning, coming from Georgia. is used to that,” James added. “I never had a worry. The biggest worry was getting [them] to Eugene, Oregon.
“NIL helps. Lanning is definitely cool, the culture that he has there. Just getting more guys from the South makes guys feel comfortable. They see a Burch, they see a Jordan James. They see these guys going up north, [saying] ‘Let’s build something special.'”
Lanning has to replace Gabriel, a Heisman Trophy finalist, but UCLA transfer Dante Moore is likely the next man up.
Muhammad had a stellar one-and-done season for the Ducks. Defensive tackle Derrick Harmon might be headed to the NFL after one season following a transfer from Michigan State.
Muhammad wasn’t the only one realizing the Ducks got a way-too-early start on that transition process.
“Oregon football is going to be in a better place,” Ferguson said. “It’s not the last time you’re going to see Oregon football back here. They’ve got the players. They definitely have the coaches. They’re going to recruit and work their butt off every season. I think this is just the tip of the iceberg.”
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