Oregon coach Dan Lanning is seriously spooked. He’s got flashbacks to the Ducks’ brutal 56-22 smackdown by Indiana in the 2025 College Football Playoff semifinals, but this time, the uniforms are blue and gold. With No. 15 Oregon (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) set to host No. 23 UCLA (4-0, 2-0) on Saturday, Oct. 10th, Lanning is openly comparing this Bruins squad to the Hoosiers team that handed Oregon that CFP loss. “We’re about to play a UCLA team that reminds me a lot of Indiana from last year,” Lanning flat out said Tuesday.
The Eerie Rebuild That Has Lanning on Edge
You gotta wonder if Lanning’s seen a ghost, because the parallels between UCLA and that 2025 Indiana team are seriously creepy. Both schools, traditionally known for their hoops programs, not their football, have been completely turned around by coaches coming straight out of James Madison. Curt Cignetti pulled Indiana from the depths after making James Madison a force in FBS. Two years later, UCLA hired Bob Chesney after he led the Dukes to a CFP appearance himself. This isn’t just about the head coach, either. Cignetti brought his key coordinators, Bryant Haines and Mike Shanahan, with him to Indiana, and Chesney did the exact same thing, bringing Colin Hitschler and Dean Kennedy to UCLA.
The player movement is just as wild. Cignetti brought 13 players from James Madison to Indiana in his first season. Chesney? He brought 11. But the transfer portal didn’t stop there. Cignetti’s Hoosiers rolled in with over 20 transfers in both seasons, focused on finding players who fit his system, not just chasing superstars. Chesney took that to another level, bringing in a staggering 43 transfers for his first season at UCLA. That’s some serious roster churn, but it’s clearly clicking. Lanning nailed it when he said, “Why I draw some comparisons to Indiana , a lot of guys traveled with (the coach) to their next stop. Extremely well-coached team. You’ve got two coordinators that were with (Chesney) before, so they’ve been together for a while, a lot of continuity.”
Bruins Dominance Mirrors a National Champion Path
This isn’t just Lanning blowing smoke, either. We all remember how Cignetti’s Indiana took off. In his first season, the Hoosiers absolutely blew past expectations, making it to the College Football Playoff and duking it out valiantly against eventual-runners up Notre Dame. The very next year, Indiana went perfect and snatched the CFP national championship from Miami. Now, you look at Bob Chesney’s UCLA. In his first season, they’re shocking everyone, absolutely dominating every single opponent they’ve faced, storming into their bye week with a perfect 4-0 record.
The irony here is painful for Oregon. The Ducks’ own path in last season’s CFP included a matchup with Chesney and James Madison, which they won 51-34, before getting wrecked by Cignetti’s Indiana in the semifinals. So when Lanning says this UCLA team reminds him of that Indiana squad, he’s basically saying he’s got real fear. “They’ve got a lot of different looks, and they certainly present some challenges,” he admitted. The Bruins aren’t just winning, they’re doing it with style. They’re tied for the third-most points in the Big Ten (44.8 per game) and have forced the most turnovers (13) in the conference. Lanning isn’t just looking at the James Madison film, he’s poring over the “body of work” UCLA has put on tape in their red-hot 4-0 start.
So, get ready for October 10th. No. 23 UCLA, 4-0 and absolutely lighting it up, rolls into Oregon to face the No. 15 Ducks, who are sitting at 3-1. Lanning is clearly spooked, and honestly, who can blame him? The Bruins are red-hot, and if history repeats itself like Lanning thinks it will, this Saturday is gonna be must-watch football.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
Leave a Reply