The Oregon Ducks are attempting to rewrite a wrong this Saturday when they host James Madison in Eugene in the College Football Playoff.
Last winter, despite winning a Big Ten title, the Ducks fell flat in the Rose Bowl to the eventual national champion Ohio State Buckeyes. Now, another opportunity awaits in a get right spot.
Coach Dan Lanning realizes it.
"I think you always feel the pressure in moments, especially when we had a hiccup early against Indiana, that, you know, we didn't have any room, you know, to leave any indecision for anybody afterwards," Lanning told reporters this week. And our guys really approached that with each game, you know, has a life of its own, and we have to go attack it. And we can do it in a variety of ways."
Having learned from the Hoosiers loss, Lanning said he recognizes the margin for error is small and execution is at a premium.
"Yeah, our standards are standard, right? And this team wouldn't be here if they didn't play well all season and they beat teams that, on paper, you’d say this team has talent, you know, that can out-prepare this team," Lanning said. "That's not the case with these guys. These guys have handled those moments this year and been able to perform really well."
James Madison is playing the underdog role well, but recognizing it's a home game and a chance for the Ducks to thrive in all three phases is a huge measuring stick approach.
"JMU obviously have done an exceptional job all year. You talk about one of the few teams that's a top-10 offense, top-10 defense," Lanning said. "You watch their offense, they create expensive plays all over the board. The quarterback can run the ball, the running back can run the ball. They extend it down the field. Defensively, they create a lot of issues, a lot of different looks, a ton of variety that we have to be able to practice and go through, but overall, really excited about the opportunity for our guys."
But, winning at home with what's on the line, though, is far more significant for Lanning.'
"We talked about it back when we played here before," Lanning said. "You know, this hopefully isn't our last opportunity to play on this field. And obviously guys like that are really excited. We had a senior day here, right? And one of those guys were wondering, is this gonna be my last moment to get to play there? And we knew if we took care of business, there'd be another opportunity."
Come Saturday, the moment will finally arrive.