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Colorado is officially leaving the PAC 12 after announcing its decision to join the Big XII in 2024, but that news didn’t seem to bother Oregon head football coach Dan Lanning.
Despite being in the league for just one year, he took a major shot at the Buffs and their history in the Conference of Champions. Lanning’s words are now going viral online.
Lanning took over in Eugene after three successful seasons as defensive coordinator at Georgia. While with the Dawgs, he helped lead the program to its first national championship since 1980. He also saw eight defenders drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Upon taking over at Oregon, his Ducks were blown out by those Bulldogs in his first ever game as head coach. The 49-3 shellacking put a damper on the start to the season, but he was able to recover and help the team win 10 games.
He’d finish 6-2 in PAC 12 play with losses to Oregon State and Washington coming by a combined seven points. The Ducks capped the season with an exciting 28-27 win over North Carolina in the bowl game.
As he looks ahead to 2023, his program will be considered a conference championship contender.
Oregon received one first-place vote from the media and was considered the fourth-best team in the league according to the preseason media standings.
One team on the bottom looking up was Colorado. Despite the addition of head coach Deion Sanders, the Buffs were picked to finish 11th in the 12-team conference.
We learned this week that the upcoming campaign will be the program’s last in the PAC 12 as they plan to move on to the Big XII in 2024. That news sparked a major reaction from Dan Lanning.
Lanning was heard ripping the Buffaloes to shreds in a recent press conference. He doesn’t believe the team has done enough to make the rest of the PAC 12 feel bad about their departure.
“Not a big reaction. I’m trying to remember what they won to affect this conference. … Do you remember them winning anything?
Oregon HC Dan Lanning on his reaction to Colorado leaving the Pac-12 😅
(via @BrennaGreene_) pic.twitter.com/VKCe7M3q5o
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 31, 2023
When asked about the Colorado decision, Lanning said, “”Not a big reaction. I’m trying to remember what they won to affect this conference. … Do you remember them winning anything?”
He’s right, to an extent.
The Buffs have won more than five games in a season just once as a PAC 12 member. They’ve notched double digit wins just twice since the turn of the century.
Last year was one of the program’s worst as it finished 1-11. That led to the midseason firing of Karl Dorrell and the eventual hiring of Coach Prime.
Still, Lanning comes off a bit salty with the remarks. That could be due Colorado’s making more money than the Ducks in the 2024 season (and beyond) due to conference affiliation. Or, maybe due to the outlook of the PAC 12 as a whole.
The league is in serious danger of collapsing altogether, especially given the latest intel on its media rights agreement.
The Ducks and Buffs will face off one more time in PAC 12 play. Colorado players and coaches will be sure to remember these words as they prepare for that matchup.