It's not easy to get in front of the press after watching your unbeaten and top-ranked team get thumped in the Rose Bowl, but Oregon coach Dan Lanning did just that and he was quick with the praise for an Ohio State team that jumped out to a 34-0 lead on Lanning's Ducks.
“When you play a great team like Ohio State, you can’t not be clicking on all cylinders. And they were. We didn’t really have the ability to stop them and didn’t have the ability to get something going for us on offense.”
Lanning continued heaping praise on Ohio State and Ryan Day after witnessing the Buckeyes jump out to a 34–0 lead behind 390 yards of total offense in the first half alone. Ohio State recorded eight sacks in the game, while surrendering none, and won the rushing battle in the game, 181 yards to -23 yards.
“It’s an unbelievable team. Coach Day and his staff have done an unbelievable job there. I don’t want to discredit what our players were able to accomplish this year. We had a great team. We just ran into a great team tonight.”
Ohio State became the third team with a win in the first round to win a quarterfinal game over an opponent coming off a bye. Notre Dame will look to make those teams 4–0 in that scenario in this College Football Playoff when they face off against Georgia Thursday evening in the Sugar Bowl.
Asked about whether his team's longer layoff contributed to the score, Lanning wasn't having any of that.
“I think that’s an excuse. You know, I thought our guys prepared well going in. Obviously, they had a better plan than us, but that’s an excuse.”
On his offense's struggles to keep pace on the scoreboard with Ohio State, Lanning credited his team's effort for what they were able to do to try to make it interesting. He also put into context just how much havoc the Silver Bullets caused.
“It wasn’t like the first read was there. It was this guy busting his tail and guys like Traeshon and the O-line fighting like crazy to extend plays and create those moments. And we just didn’t have enough of those moments tonight.”
On Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who torched Oregon for 187 receiving yards and two huge first-half touchdowns to help the Buckeyes jump out to a 24-0 second-quarter lead, Lanning said the freshman is NFL-ready right now.
“I mean, the guy’s NFL-ready. He’s that talented. He’s very special. And, you know, Will Howard did a great job getting the ball to him tonight. He’s tough to defend. He’s physical. He’s got all the tools.”
Bad news for college football fans across the land: Jeremiah Smith has two more seasons in Columbus.
But first, Smith and the Buckeyes will face Texas in the Cotton Bowl Classic on Friday, January 10 for a berth into the College Football Playoff Championship Game.
