When the Oregon Ducks faced off against the Boise State Broncos in the team's first FBS matchup of the 2024 season, they came away with a win, beginning a string of 11 more victories on the year that culminated in a Big Ten title. But there was much more beneath the surface of the win over the Broncos.
First off, Oregon came into the meeting ranked No. 7 and with national championship hopes. They allowed Boise State — more specifically, Ashton Jeanty — to run all over them, to the tune of 221 yards and three touchdowns. The Ducks shot themselves in the foot numerous times, turning the ball over twice and committing nine penalties for 74 yards. In the end, a game-winning field goal off the foot of Atticus Sappington was the saving grace for Oregon avoiding
a historic upset.
While a win was a win and was a part of a 12-0 regular season and the eventual No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, the Ducks left that early September game with much to clean up.
Fast forward to 2026, and the standard remains the same for head coach Dan Lanning's Ducks. While a victory is expected, he and his staff will be looking at the finer details to measure true success in Week 1.
"Really, how we play to our standard — our standard of play," Lanning said on Monday when asked what success would look like against Boise State. "Beginning-of-the-year games generally have a lot of penalties. Beginning-of-the-year games have missed tackles. I think, for us, it's about playing to that standard. What's the technique necessary? Are we achieving that at a high level?"
The success level doesn't just stop with the players, however. The coaches have to do their part too.
"The operation as a coaching staff, making sure we're giving our players the best chance to have success," Lanning said. "Then just the in-game mode of how we assess each situation, make adjustments throughout the game and play that. Obviously, you'd love to come out of this game healthy with a win, but it starts there. Regardless of the result of the game, we're going to be coaching something afterward, and we can get better at it."
The Ducks certainly improved upon their Week 2 meeting with the Broncos in 2024, winning the final 10 regular-season game and beating a loaded Penn State Nittany Lions squad in the conference championship game.
While getting out of the gates fast and winning without nearly as much of a scare would be ideal, it's not about where teams are at the beginning of the season. Champions aren't crowned after Week 1, they're crowned in January. And from this point until then, improvements will have to made — regardless of the result of each game.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Dan Lanning defines success for Oregon beyond a Week 1 win
