After Oregon beat USC on November 22nd while the SEC was gorging on cupcakes, Dan Lanning said, "We didn't play Chattanooga State today." The Trojans were ranked No. 15 at the time, and they put up a fight.
In the conference where it just means more the contingent of playoff-lobbyists were playing Samford, Charlotte and Eastern Illinois. A little embarrassing just two weeks before taking to social media to whine about how the integrity of the game hinges on your three-loss team being included in the 12-team College Football Playoff field.
Lanning's little aside was totally appropriate and completely in character but he also showed he had heart and a sense of humor when he took a picture yesterday in some new swag, from Chattanooga State, technically the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the Mocs, who play their home games at Finley Stadium, 5-7 this season, 4-4 in the Southern Conference.
Dan Lanning shows his affinity for small-school football
The Mocs play frequent SEC victims like Wofford and Mercer. They lost 69-3 to Tennessee in the 2024 season opener, beat Portland State that year 45-30.
A small-school guy himself, a former linebacker at William Jewell College, Lanning good-naturedly took time to rock the gear, even though he's busy with Early Signing Day and a playoff run.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning showing he’s a good sport by wearing a Chatt State shirt the school sent him. Couple of weeks ago after the Ducks beat USC, Lanning said “We didn’t play Chattanooga State today.”Basically a shot at the SEC, who were playing a lot of cupcakes that week pic.twitter.com/p7W1xWko2G
— Rick Nyman (@RickNymanSport) December 2, 2025