Dan Lanning drew an unflattering coaching comp with Oregon’s no-show during Friday’s CFP semifinal.
Lanning and the Ducks were blown out by Indiana in Friday’s Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The Hoosiers went up 35-7 by halftime, and it didn’t get any better for Oregon from there as they ended up losing by an ugly 56-22 final score.
In response to the drubbing, everyone said the same thing about the Oregon head coach Lanning. They compared him to former Penn State head coach (and now Virginia Tech head coach) James Franklin.
The millennial generation has their own James Franklin! pic.twitter.com/v6kh2fH1Ra
— quentan tarantino (@CRlME_SCENE) January 10, 2026
Oregon what the hell are y’all doing Dan Lanning only been two years in but his big game so far looks like James Franklin
— DJ House (@DJHouse82) January 10, 2026
Dan Lanning is just a younger James Franklin
— green80sports (@green80sports) January 10, 2026
Is Dan Lanning the new James Franklin?
— Stuckey (@Stuckey2) January 10, 2026
At what point does Dan Lanning start getting a James Franklin reputation. pic.twitter.com/Qb1Xax71S6
— Dan Divjak (@IceShark8) January 10, 2026
Franklin developed a reputation for a strong 9-to-10-win floor but an inability to get the job when it matters most. While he was at Penn State, Franklin regularly failed to beat elite opponents and was unable to make it out of the semifinal during his one time leading the program to the CFP in the 2024 season.
As for Lanning, that comparison might be a little unfair since he is a younger coach who is only in his fourth season leading the Ducks. Lanning also already led Oregon to a Big Ten championship and a CFP berth last season before winning 13 games and getting them back into the CFP again this season.
But Friday’s CFP semifinal was an immensely ugly showing for the Ducks, no thanks to some very embarrassing blunders by quarterback Dante Moore. Now Lanning and the Ducks will have to go home and lick their wounds before trying to regroup for next season.
