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Morning Buzz: There’s A Gulf Between USC And Oregon And It’s Not Just NIL

With Oregon ranked No. 1, it’s often noted that the Ducks are far ahead of other programs (like USC) when it comes to NIL. I’m not disputing that.

But does anyone ever acknowledge the gulf that exists in intensity between Dan Lanning and Lincoln Riley?

The simple truth is Lanning has outhustled Riley the past three years. He recruits harder than Riley, especially in Southern California, but that’s not just one area. Look at their daily approach. If you talk to Oregon assistant coaches, they say there is a go-go-go attitude every day.

“It’s always fourth down and we’re always going for it,” an Oregon assistant coach told me.

I joked with the same coach that after the Ducks beat Penn State, Lanning would probably have a recruiting meeting the next morning for the staff. He said that wouldn’t surprise anyone.

Do you get that sense from USC? Half the time it feels like Riley is just doing what he wants whether it gets the right results or not.

Riley seems too set in his ways to adjust to things while Lanning always seems to be looking for an advantage.

How many people laughed three years ago at the idea of Oregon hiring an assistant from Georgia vs. USC hiring the head coach from Oklahoma? Who is laughing today?

  • Tight end Kade Eldridge has entered the transfer portal.
  • Bear Alexander (remember him?) has officially entered the transfer portal.

7 thoughts on “Morning Buzz: There’s A Gulf Between USC And Oregon And It’s Not Just NIL”

  1. The questions should’ve began when CLR decided to leave OU for USC because OU was headed for the SEC, which is a lateral move at best. Or was it that the people at OU had finally figured out the CLR was a fraud and the program was slipping into mediocrity. Either way, if you’re a true competitor you would embrace going up against tough competition every week. In the words of the Nature Boy Ric Flair, “To be the man you’ve got to beat the man! WOOOO!”

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  2. Unless SC gets their act together with NIL and hires a coach who isn’t a corpse, USC football will remain D E A D.

    ASU, Boise State and SMU are in the playoffs, but SC was just 7 plays from being there as well, right Lincoln ?

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  3. LR doesn’t have the same personality as Lanning, LR seems better suited to be an O-coordinator.

    His recruiting was inside the top 10 at OU. I thought that he should be able to be top-5 in recruiting at USC, but it hasn’t turned out that way.

    Speaking of NIL, Michigan flipped 2025s top QB from LSU with $10.5 million

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  4. Lanning is a perfect example of coaching tree lineage- Lanning- with Smart by way of Saban; Doofus- Mike Leach. Enough said.

    Lanning pays attention to details- like all great college coaches, recruits HARD. Lanning even caused a shift in the rules by him smartly using a previous rule to his advantage- smart! You can see the difference when LR screams at an official for a bad call- they practically laugh at him.

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