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With Dan Lanning and James Franklin, it's only a big game if they lose

ByDale Bliss|
Oregon offensive lineman Isaiah World clears a path as the Oregon Ducks host the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Sept. 6, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.
Oregon offensive lineman Isaiah World clears a path as the Oregon Ducks host the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Sept. 6, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Football is a game of matchups. After going 7-0 against Tomato Cans in the opening month of college football, Oregon and Penn State come to the much-anticipated clash of the No. 6 Ducks versus the No. 3 Nittany Lions in Beaver Stadium, Saturday night at 4:30 p.m. PT on NBC.

All the pregame talk will be about the intimidating power of the White Out and the struggles both coaches have had in so-called "big games." Dan Lanning is 39-6 overall but 4-4 against the Top Ten. Penn State head coach James Franklin is 0-14 in the regular season against Top Ten opponents.

It's ludicrous to suggest coaches with winning percentages of .867 (Lanning) and .712 (Franklin) don't know how to teach the game and run a program. The charge of "can't win the big one" is the same one they hurled at Ryan Day and Kirby Smart before they joined the select group of coaches that have won a national championship in the BCS/playoff era.

Nick Saban didn't win one until he was 55, and only three active coaches (Dabo Swinney, Day and Smart) have achieved that milestone. It's tiresome, this X/social media world where everything is a hot take and everyone is a failure except the guy on the very top of the heap.

The job is to teach and develop young men, to recruit well, hire good people and get the most out of your team. Both these guys are great coaches. Losing a football game against a tough opponent shouldn't be an occasion to trash either one of them.

For Lanning and Franklin in spite of all their accomplishments as head coaches, it's only a big game if they lose. If they win it gets discounted. Both have reached the highest level of the game and it's a matter of time before they win it all.

Franklin's won two playoff games and Lanning a Big Ten Championship in his first year in the league with an undefeated regular season. They've won rivalry games and games in hostile environments and coached Top Ten teams. They've won a lot of big games. Trouble is, there's always a bigger one that comes along.

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