The Big Ten Conference got more than they bargained for when they invited the Oregon Ducks into their league.
They were expecting a little more flash and perhaps a few tough games here and there
But when push came to shove, it would be the traditional Big Ten powers who would prevail.
Someone forgot to tell the Ducks and Dan Lanning that.
Oregon went through a grueling Big Ten schedule, going 9-0 in regular season play, including eight straight weeks without a bye. And then to top it off, won the Big Ten Championship Game 45-37 over Penn State in Indianapolis.
For the first season at least, Oregon doesn’t have much of a problem with the Big Ten. But it looks as if the Big Ten has a big Oregon problem.
And it’s not only in football.
Dana Altman’s basketball team is 9-0 and looks like a Top 10 team in the country. The Ducks are poised to have a great first season on the Big Ten hardwood.
But back to football where the Ducks, of all teams, have a chance to win their first national championship in program history and it would make it two in a row for the conference as Michigan won the entire thing last season.
It won’t be easy. Oregon will have a tough three-game run which will start with a Rose Bowl that will feature a very good opponent and a first-round winner. That team will have already got their playoff jitters out of the way.
It’s just another chance to prove the doubters wrong.
Before the season, the question was asked about whether the Ducks could handle the Big Ten’s bruising and toughness on a week-to-week basis.
Lanning ain’t no dummy.
He knew that building up the line on both sides of the ball was the way to go and to ensure Oregon’s success in either the Pac-12 or especially the Big Ten. He also didn’t come to Eugene to just win conference titles. Those are nice, but Lanning was brought to Oregon to give Phil Knight a national championship.
They are three wins away from doing just that whether the Big Ten powers like it or not.