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duckfan100May 12, 1:53 AM

Joel Klatt says Oregon/Lanning have "big game issues"

https://www.on3.com/news/joel-klatt-reveals-biggest-question-for-every-top-12-team-in-2026/ Biggest Question: “The biggest question for my No. 1 team, Oregon, this one is about their big-game issues. And they have them. That’s now become an issue. Maybe not quite Penn State-James Franklin, but it’s getting there. The one caveat I’ll say about this is that Oregon has taken a step forward every single year. Every single year under Dan Lanning.” I'm getting really tired of this narrative. The back-to-back playoff blowouts are bad, but those were both to teams that ended up winning the championship. Oregon has played in plenty of other "big games" but it seems like those are forgotten. For example what about the Orange Bowl, Joel? We went to the opposite side of the country and shut out the #4 team in the country 23-0. If we had lost you just know Lanning and Oregon would have been crucified for "losing yet another big game" but after we won, in a blowout nonetheless, crickets. Unfortunately this dumb narrative isn't going to go away until we win the big one. Hopefully 2026 is finally the year.
119 Replies
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Ducks25

May 12, 1:55 AM

It's a stupid talking point but will persist until we win a title. Any game that was previously considered "big" is no longer big if you don't win the title. Sark has the same talking point, Kirby and Dabo had it until they won titles. Dan will have it until we win a title or at the very least aren't getting smoked in playoff games.
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Fragileduck

May 12, 1:58 AM

duckfan100 said:
https://www.on3.com/news/joel-klatt-reveals-biggest-question-for-every-top-12-team-in-2026/ Biggest Question: “The biggest question for my No. 1 team, Oregon, this one is about their big-game issues. And they have them. That’s now become an issue. Maybe not quite Penn State-James Franklin, but it’s getting there. The one caveat I’ll say about this is that Oregon has taken a step forward every single year. Every single year under Dan Lanning.” I'm getting really tired of this narrative. The back-to-back playoff blowouts are bad, but those were both to teams that ended up winning the championship. Oregon has played in plenty of other "big games" but it seems like those are forgotten. For example what about the Orange Bowl, Joel? We went to the opposite side of the country and shut out the #4 team in the country 23-0. If we had lost you just know Lanning and Oregon would have been crucified for "losing yet another big game" but after we won, in a blowout nonetheless, crickets. Unfortunately this dumb narrative isn't going to go away until we win the big one. Hopefully 2026 is finally the year.
I mean we’re 0-3 in repeat games and two of them were ridiculous, it’s kinda warranted. Coaching was a huge issue all 3 times, you can say a lot if it was the coordinators and that may be valid, but is it fixed?
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Bellottis_Mustache

May 12, 1:58 AM

That's going to be a narrative when you get blown out to end your season in consecutive seasons. Just is.
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Ducks25

May 12, 2:01 AM

Fragileduck said:
I mean we’re 0-3 in repeat games and two of them were ridiculous, it’s kinda warranted. Coaching was a huge issue all 3 times, you can say a lot if it was the coordinators and that may be valid, but is it fixed?
I still can't believe how bad the Peach Bowl was. My dad and I watched together. We both joked well no matter what happens at least it won't be as bad as last year. First play, pick six. Second year in a row of us looking at each other, not saying a word, knowing the game was already over and it was another Duck big game humiliation.
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Smokeyy

May 12, 2:01 AM

It’s a narrative, but the big game wins surely get forgotten lol. If you don’t win it at all, this is what people will say. The two blowouts don’t help
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Hunky21

May 12, 2:02 AM

It’s not completely unwarranted imo. I get that Ohio State and Indiana ended up winning the national championship, but we’ve had the talent to not have those two games be over by halftime. There’s really no excuse for how those games went
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Ducks25

May 12, 2:04 AM

Hunky21 said:
It’s not completely unwarranted imo. I get that Ohio State and Indiana ended up winning the national championship, but we’ve had the talent to not have those two games be over by halftime. There’s really no excuse for how those games went
I don't get it. It's not like Dan can't get the team ready for a big game. It's not like the team doesn't improve over the course of the year. We beat tOSU earlier in the year and were not as good as Indiana at home but weren't like not in the same league. Utter demolition, twice. WTF?
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Sir-1

May 12, 2:07 AM

The is always the case with this narrative. It works the same for every team, and every coach, who faces it. "Big games" are only the games you lose. Any wins don't get counted as a big game unless it's for a title. Lanning and the Ducks will struggle to win a "big game" until we win a championship. If we would have beat indiana in the semis last year and then lost to miami, there would be the same narrative. That win would not have been a big game. It was only a big game because we lost. Just the way it is. But after this year we can put all of that narrative to bed!
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ChasingAinslee

May 12, 2:09 AM

Since all the "Talking Heads" and others rank Lanning in their top 5 current coaches in college football... what the fuck are we gonna do? Go get someone "better". LOL. Klatt is an idiot. This is what you get when you don't have anything else to talk about. Be controversial... Stir up some shit and get some clicks. I don't know who y'all want coaching the Ducks, but Lanning is as good as it will likely ever be at Oregon. Great X and O guy, elite motivator and recruiter, amazing father and husband. Turns boys into men. Cares about everyone in the program. Relationships are everything and Lanning never misses here. I'll take Lanning all day, everyday over anyone else. So Klatt can politely... STFU 💋
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GreenDuck88

May 12, 2:10 AM

There's truth to this narrative, it's pretty easy to see it. If you believe in Dan (like I think we all do), you'll be confident he'll win it all and then the narrative will go away forever. But at this moment I do understand why it's out there. We're .500 against P5 teams that finished the season ranked under Dan.
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OnceADuck

May 12, 2:13 AM

Day couldn’t win the big one until he did as well. Until you win a natty people will change the definition of a big game. Control what you can control and just win.
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RunDAT's GHOST

May 12, 2:17 AM

Just a reminder: Sports commentary is inherently dumb. There are no consequences for just making shit up. In fact, you can not even watch the game and critique the play of somebody who isn't on the team and still be one of the highest paid commentators. Image
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duckfan100

May 12, 2:17 AM

I just think it's lazy and reductionist to say that Lanning is turning into west coast James Franklin. There's more nuance to it. Franklin's problem was that he could barely win ANY "big games." That, broadly, isn't Lanning's problem. It's not like Lanning can't beat any good teams ever. His main issue the last few years has been that he apparently has no idea how to get the team ready for post-season rematches.
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Scottmalkinson23!

May 12, 2:32 AM

He picked us to play in the national championship like 2 weeks ago
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OzarkDuck

May 12, 2:35 AM

duckfan100 said:
https://www.on3.com/news/joel-klatt-reveals-biggest-question-for-every-top-12-team-in-2026/ Biggest Question: “The biggest question for my No. 1 team, Oregon, this one is about their big-game issues. And they have them. That’s now become an issue. Maybe not quite Penn State-James Franklin, but it’s getting there. The one caveat I’ll say about this is that Oregon has taken a step forward every single year. Every single year under Dan Lanning.” I'm getting really tired of this narrative. The back-to-back playoff blowouts are bad, but those were both to teams that ended up winning the championship. Oregon has played in plenty of other "big games" but it seems like those are forgotten. For example what about the Orange Bowl, Joel? We went to the opposite side of the country and shut out the #4 team in the country 23-0. If we had lost you just know Lanning and Oregon would have been crucified for "losing yet another big game" but after we won, in a blowout nonetheless, crickets. Unfortunately this dumb narrative isn't going to go away until we win the big one. Hopefully 2026 is finally the year.
Joel still picking Oregon #1, in spite of those comments, says something significant, I think.
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GreenDuck88

May 12, 2:40 AM

duckfan100 said:
I just think it's lazy and reductionist to say that Lanning is turning into west coast James Franklin. There's more nuance to it. Franklin's problem was that he could barely win ANY "big games." That, broadly, isn't Lanning's problem. It's not like Lanning can't beat any good teams ever. His main issue the last few years has been that he apparently has no idea how to get the team ready for post-season rematches.
Any comparison to Franklin is so dumb. Franklin was 4-21 against top 10 teams at PSU. Dan is 5-7, which is why people in the media knock him. And while that's not good, it's already more wins than Franklin had in 11.5 years lol
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byuduck

May 12, 2:43 AM

I think that’s a pretty fair assessment from him. He has us #1 still and picked us to play in the championship this year. He mentions that we’ve gotten better each year. But it’s absolutely valid to bring up that we got embarrassed two years in a row in the playoffs. He’s got to figure out how to adjust for the repeat games. That’s been the bigger issue IMO and less of it being a “big game issue”
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o_WedgeAntilles

May 12, 2:47 AM

Every major coach gets some type of criticism (except maybe Cignetti until the next time they flop). Smart and Bama Day and Michigan Riley and defense Freeman and G6 programs Swinney and rigidity Fisch and his mantra on his fireplace
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Dougts

May 12, 2:51 AM

one way to kill that narrative...
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Jsduck

May 12, 2:52 AM

Stein. Nuff said
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Jsduck

May 12, 2:53 AM

o_WedgeAntilles said:
Every major coach gets some type of criticism (except maybe Cignetti until the next time they flop). Smart and Bama Day and Michigan Riley and defense Freeman and G6 programs Swinney and rigidity Fisch and his mantra on his fireplace
Riley still can’t find a defense And no one in the national media talks about, or cares about, that loser Fisch.
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NYCDuck

May 12, 2:57 AM

I think “rematch issues” is more accurate than “big game issues” but it’s really just semantics. There is undeniable truth in the general sentiment, we’ve gotten brutally out-coached in the two biggest games of the last two seasons.
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Geko

May 12, 3:06 AM

duckfan100 said:
https://www.on3.com/news/joel-klatt-reveals-biggest-question-for-every-top-12-team-in-2026/ Biggest Question: “The biggest question for my No. 1 team, Oregon, this one is about their big-game issues. And they have them. That’s now become an issue. Maybe not quite Penn State-James Franklin, but it’s getting there. The one caveat I’ll say about this is that Oregon has taken a step forward every single year. Every single year under Dan Lanning.” I'm getting really tired of this narrative. The back-to-back playoff blowouts are bad, but those were both to teams that ended up winning the championship. Oregon has played in plenty of other "big games" but it seems like those are forgotten. For example what about the Orange Bowl, Joel? We went to the opposite side of the country and shut out the #4 team in the country 23-0. If we had lost you just know Lanning and Oregon would have been crucified for "losing yet another big game" but after we won, in a blowout nonetheless, crickets. Unfortunately this dumb narrative isn't going to go away until we win the big one. Hopefully 2026 is finally the year.
The bigger issue is the rematch issue. Teams look significantly better playing Oregon a 2nd time and Oregon looks unprepared in those moments. Obviously the quality of team your facing is championship level but it is what it is
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OnceADuck

May 12, 3:09 AM

Geko said:
The bigger issue is the rematch issue. Teams look significantly better playing Oregon a 2nd time and Oregon looks unprepared in those moments. Obviously the quality of team your facing is championship level but it is what it is
Maybe Dante looked unprepared in the rematch but I don’t think anyone else did. Our defense played well when it was still a game and guys were open on offense. Dante just melted down tbh

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