The rivalry between the Oregon Ducks and USC Trojans has built up over the last several decades, and with Dan Lanning at the helm in Eugene, it's reached a boiling point thanks to the recruiting prowess of both teams. You can see the fire between the opposing players on the field, often ending in little skirmishes after the whistle, and you can even see if off the field in the way that the two programs, both coaches and social media accounts, conduct themselves.
While USC spent much of the offseason talking and celebrating some recruiting wins over the Ducks, Lanning saved his talking for Saturday after the Ducks walked out of Los Angeles with a 41-27 win over the Trojans.
At that point, he let the words fly.
On two separate occasions, Lannings
took the gloves off and pulled no punches. To start his press conference after the game, he aimed at the USC crowd:
"I've watched 3 of their games here, and it hasn't been packed yet. But we were here tonight, and it was packed tonight. I guess when the Ducks show up, that's how you fill up the Coliseum."
To end his presser, he gave a message directly to the recruits who were watching the game and trying to make a decision between becoming a Duck and becoming a Trojan:
"3-0 against these guys. I guess if you're interested in winning football games, and you're from this area, you should go to Oregon. You want to go to a Chris Brown concert, you should go here.”
Both of these quotes have circulated across social media, understandably, and Lanning was asked about them on Monday morning while joining Dave Portnoy on Barstool Sports.
Lanning admitted the remarks were "petty" but defended his actions.
“Full disclosure that was a little petty but they’ve taken plenty of shots at us. In the off-season, there was some shots taken and somebody asked me what matters most and I said winning. And that’s where I like to go point back to is when we get the opportunity to go play them… https://t.co/XUmH78JBEM pic.twitter.com/d78juuJTl5
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 28, 2026
"I was probably a little petty," Lanning said. "But they've taken plenty of shots at us, and I, you know, in the off-season, there were some shots taken, and somebody asked me what matters most, and I said, 'winning.' And that's what I like to go point back to: when we get the opportunity to play, we've won."
Lanning is now 3-0 against the Trojans during his time in Eugene, and Oregon has won the last five meetings against USC. Going back to 2009, the Ducks are 9-2 in this rivalry. While the Trojans still hold a 38-25-2 all-time record over Oregon, many of those wins became between 1930-1990, when the Ducks' football program was largely an afterthought.
Now, Oregon is a national brand, a national contender, and has largely market-corrected the Trojans in the modern era of college football.
And Dan Lanning isn't shy about letting that be known.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon coach Dan Lanning defends 'petty' shots at Lincoln Riley, USC
