Last week, Oregon softball looked untouchable as the Ducks’ performance saw them skyrocket in the polls.

In Friday night’s home encore at Jane Sanders Stadium, Melyssa Lombardi’s group had to be unbreakable instead.

After a five-run fifth inning from San Diego — despite the Toreros having just one hit entering the frame — the Ducks had to kindle some late-inning magic to defeat a pesky San Diego (7-12) team 9-5.

A fielder’s-choice RBI from Dez Patmon and a costly error from the Toreros helped push the Ducks over the top. Oregon took advantage of three walks, an error, a wild pitch and just one hit in the bottom of the fifth to reclaim the lead. 

The Ducks gave Sokolsky some early support, manufacturing a pair of runs in the first on a two-run single from Rylee McCoy. Then, they added on another in the third on another McCoy single. 

McCoy (2-4, .465 batting average on the season) also maintained her blistering pace in the early season, slapping a pair of RBI hits that helped the Ducks get out to an early lead they would soon relinquish.

Elise Sokolsky and Lyndsey Grein looked like they would epitomize another stress-free win after Sokolsky faced one batter over the minimum over her first four innings of work. But she soon ran into trouble and — really for the first time all season — Grein (10-0, 1.13 ERA) looked human. 

Leading by two runs entering the top of the fifth, the right-hander was summoned to face the bottom of the Toreros’ lineup with two runners in scoring position. 

Catcher Braiesey Rosa worsened the jam moments later, allowing a passed ball to cut the lead to just one. Grein then did herself no favors either, allowing four-straight baserunners before a two-run single from Kaitlyn Wynia gave San Diego a 5-3 lead.  

But the Ducks, as they have all season, punched back when it mattered most — with Patmon, Stefini Ma’ake and Kai Luschar putting the ball in play and Grein (two innings, one earned run) settling in and closing out the contest.

Oregon added another in the sixth when Katie Flannery tripled and came in on a passed ball. Grein retired her last seven batters and earned the win. 

It took the Ducks until March 17 of last year to reach the 16-win mark. They’ll have a chance to add another shortly, taking on Portland State (4-12) at 7:05.

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This weekend at the Mary Nutter Classic was supposed to be a difficult test for No.19 Oregon softball (15-1 ).

Instead, after an 11-3 ranked win over No. 22 Missouri (8-8), it was an exam the Ducks breezed right through. 

Oregon’s best hitters came through. Its pitchers dominated in the circle and, yet again, its defense was superb. 

All of those familiar hallmarks spelled out a tenth-straight victory for the Ducks, who will be sure to see a rise in the polls early next week. 

The Ducks wasted no time getting ahead, hanging eight runs in the first three innings of play and smacking five homers in the process. Stefani Ma’ake, Katie Flannery and Emma Cox each recorded long balls. Rylee McCoy blasted a pair of her own that helped seal the win. 

Cox and Flannery both added homers to open the scoring with the three-run third before 

McCoy and Ma’ake went back-to-back in the fifth. 

More runs came after the pair of homers for the Ducks via singles from Flannery and Luschar. 

Much like wins prior, it was Grein (9-0) underpinning the offensive performance. She was once again brilliant in her 4.2 innings of relief, throwing 44 of her 78 pitches for strikes and evading bats at will. 

Five or Oregon’s seven hits left the yard. The Ducks drew four walks, struck out just five times and were 4-5 with runners in scoring position. McCoy’s three-run homer in the seventh inning capped off a terrific weekend and put any hopes of a massive Missouri (1-10 with runners on) comeback far out of reach. 

After a remarkable stretch over the first three away weekends of the season, head coach Melyssa Lombardi’s Ducks will head home before hosting the Oregon Classic at Jane Sanders Stadium. Oregon will take on San Diego at 3:30 on Friday.

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The hometown kids did it again.

Such little had gone according to plan through this maddening mess of a Saturday matinee, from its copious scoring slumps to the countless opportunities blown by both teams. 

But when 40 minutes of play still left Oregon needing Nate Bittle and Jackson Shelstad to come through, the Oregon natives did, propelling the Ducks to a massive win.

To push Oregon (21-8, 10-8 Big Ten, four-straight wins) over the top in its upset 77-73 win over No.11 Wisconsin (21-7, 11-7 Big Ten), the Ducks relied on Shelstad’s  3-pointer at the end of regulation and big baskets from Bittle in overtime.

To clinch Dana Altman’s 15th-straight 20-win season in dramatic fashion, the big man hit a pair of hook shots in the post to help push the Ducks ahead. Still, Wisconsin had a chance to tie it, but John Tonje’s 3-pointer drew iron and helped the Ducks grab a breathless top-15 win. 

Only Auburn, the No.1 team in the nation, has more NET Q1 wins than the Ducks this season. 

The real bedlam began when Bittle missed an easy layup to cut the deficit to one in the last minute. But Wisconsin turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds play, giving Shelstad his chance to shine with the long step-back 3-pointer falling through and eventually forcing overtime. 

On any normal game, maybe that would’ve been a turning point. On this particularly dizzying Saturday contest, it was just the first of several.

There was the wild shot from Klesmit. Or the clutch mid-range jumper from Tonje that gave Wisconsin an overtime lead. The more consequential moment came just after a huge Oregon defensive stop. Kwame Evans Jr. missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity, giving the Badgers new life after a Tonje layup cut the deficit to one. 

Keeshawn Barthelemy’s free throws extended the lead back to three. But still, the door remained open until the final seconds when Jadrian Tracey’s late free throw iced the game and ran out the clock. 

Until the late heroics, it appeared Wisconsin would out-physical a Ducks’ team dwindling down the stretch of the season. 

Oregon scored only 26 points in the first half, falling behind by as many as 12 with Bittle in foul trouble.

Fouls, a lack of free throws, and being outrebounded early were big culprits for the Ducks in the first 30 minutes of the game. 

But Oregon eventually rallied back thanks to four Badger turnovers in the final five minutes and a long scoring drought by the home team. The Ducks ended regulation on a 19-4 run, with Shelstad’s 3-pointer over the outstretched arm of a Badger defender, easily the biggest make.

The 6-foot sophomore’s heroics seemed far less likely when Wisconsin rumbled out of the gate on fire, hitting 50% of its first-half shots. 

But the moments down the stretch from Oregon’s hometown kids were the stuff of legends, madness in February.

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After losing Thursday and taking five innings to get its offense going in the first game Friday, Oregon softball (6-1) faced a different question in its 9-1 pummeling of Weber State:

How comically big would its lead grow before it became acceptable for substitutions to start littering the field?

Oregon had four players with multiple hits just five offensive outs into the game, 11 knocks through the first three innings and was ahead 8-1 before Weber State had a chance to bat through its lineup. 

Rylee Mccoy was 3-3 with three RBI’s, Emma Cox, Dez Patmon and Paige Sinicki each swatted a pair of knocks in the win.

And unlike its prior pair of games, Oregon waited no time.

Cox drove in Kai Luschar to open the scoring before Patmon, Sinicki and McCoy each tallied two-out knocks to extend the first-inning lead to four. 

Not even a 13-minute rain delay that started after Stefani Ma’ake opened the second-inning scoring with a double could slow down the Ducks. The onslaught soon resumed as Patmon, Sinicki and McCoy supplied another string of three-straight hits, once again ballooning the lead. 

Staked to that massive early lead, Elise Sokolsky went on the attack against the Wildcats (3-4), throwing 47of her 71 pitches for strikes, and allowing just a pair of baserunners. 

Though Sokolsky gave up an early run to Weber State, she soon regained form and silenced the Wildcats throughout the rest of her outing. Sokolsky struggled last weekend, as well as in the earlygoing Friday, but soon settled into her reliable form, with her ERA dropping from 4.85 to 3.59.

Eight substitutions soon entered and postponed an inevitable run-rule win. McCoy was the only starter to remain in the game, making good use of her remaining at-bat by adding a knock to center. 

Oregon’s new faces got in on the action in the sixth inning, with Remmington Hewitt swatting a single up the middle and ending the contest.  

Wrapping up its pair of games fairly early on the day, Oregon can now enjoy its evening, before taking on Utah Valley (2-4) 

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“It’s just me and the hoop,” Deja Kelly said of her mentality going into clutch shots.

She stepped up to the line with the game in her hands. Despite the moment, Kelly knocked them both down. 

Criticized for much of the season for not making shots, not leading her team in scoring, and not resembling a true point guard, Kelly demonstrated all the ways she can make Oregon better in a Wednesday night rivalry win

“That’s why we were blessed and excited to get Deja here,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “She’s made for these type of games.”

Shooting just well enough while relying on big moments from Kelly against their bitter rival, there was plenty for Oregon women’s basketball (17-8, 8-6 Big Ten) to feel good about in a 68-67 win over Washington (14-11, 5-8 ) 

Now trailing, UW (59% from the field)  had 3.3 seconds to set up a final play, which went to Devin Coppinger. But her mid-range shot from the elbow bounced off the back of the rim, allowing the Ducks to prevail on a night they trailed in by as many as eight. 

Oregon’s win — in which it led for only six minutes and 37 seconds — ended a four-game losing streak. Kelly, of course, was the team’s primary catalyst in the win. She tallied 21 points on 8-16 shooting, grabbed a steal and drew a charge that forced Sayvia Sellers (21 points) out of the game. 

When Kelly wasn’t leading the charge, Elisa Mevius and Phillipina Kyei combined for 25 points and were both a perfect 3-3 from the line. 

“Games like these give me a heart attack,” Kelly said. “It just shows how resilient we are, and again, locking in on getting stops… we are really detailed and intentional, and that’s what’s helped us get these late wins.” 

True to form for a team that had hung with most teams in the conference, the Huskies proved scrappy throughout, leading the Ducks 32-27 at the half. When Hannah Stines’ 3-pointer fell through with two minutes left in the third quarter, UW led by seven. 

Just when the Ducks were struggling to do much of anything on offense Wednesday, Kelly stepped in and dominated in every important way. 

Unlike Oregon, which was fighting to improve its NCAA Tournament seeding, Washington was vying just for a berth in the Big Ten Tournament, which invites the top 15 of the conference’s 18 teams.

The Ducks dampened those dreams by winning on all the little margins, improving their record to now 5-2 in games decided by five or less points. 

Dalaya Daniels and Elle Ladine recorded 17 and 16 points respectively for the Huskies who led for over 25 minutes, most of which by just a few baskets.

After UW’s strong start, the momentum shifted thanks to the Ducks doing what they do best — playing scrappy defense and getting the ball into the hands of their best playmakers. After Mevius’ spinning layup swished through, Oregon had opened the third quarter on an 11-2 run.  

But Oregon was unable to build upon that run, as UW soon stormed back and held a lead until the final minutes.

“It was not a great game,” Graves said with a laugh.

Some forgiveness may be in order for a team that won all the big moments late. Oregon double-teamed UW’s Chloe Briggs on one possession late, with the guard responding by throwing a pass into the cheerleaders sitting on the baseline. Kelly hit a game-tying layup on the next possession and both free throws on Oregon’s next possessions. 

The ensuing defensive stop sent MKA into a frenzy, and improved the Ducks’ home record to 15-3.

“We found a way today,” Graves said of his team that hit 15 of 18 free throws.

The Ducks clinched a spot in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Tournament, another tuneup comes on Sunday against Minnesota (19-6, 7-6 Big Ten) in Minneapolis. 

“Every game matters so much,” Mevius said. “The games are so close, each possession matters, and having that spot secured is so big.”

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It was the type of game where the goals were fairly simple: get plenty of reps, avoid injury and improve as much as possible. 

In their 16-2 win over Southern Utah, the Ducks tackled their goals as much as possible against a severely — Oregon beat the Eagles 18-6 less than 24 hours prior — overmatched opponent. 

The Ducks’ six-run, first-inning lead soon swelled to 10 just a few batters into the third frame, and neither of the six pitchers Southern Utah used really had any luck against the talented Oregon offense. Oregon hung at least two runs on all three arms the Eagles utilized and took advantage of six free passes on the day. 

There really wasn’t anything for the Ducks to worry about over their first of two games on the afternoon. Head coach Melyssa Lombardi’s squad hit .467 on the day, was 9-18 with runners in scoring position and was 4-5 leading off innings.  

Staked to that massive early lead, Lyndsey Grein’s job was simple: throw strikes, limit baserunners and attack the Eagles’ offense. She went on to retire 12 of 18 batters, allowing just two hits and fanning three. After a rough start to her season yesterday, Elise Sokolsky came in and allowed a run in the final frame. 

Grein has now allowed two runs (she threw four innings in the season-opener) over her first eight innings as a Duck. 

And much like her first outing, it helped that she was pitching with a massive lead. 

When Grein stepped into the circle, she already had a six-run advantage. Oregon’s offense took little time getting going with Paige Sinicki’s (2-3) two-run double headlining a six-run first. 

More runs came in the third as Kai Luschar, Kalynn Jones and Stefani Ma’ake each added RBI singles. The Ducks added on in the fourth as Katie Flannery drove in a pair on a knock to left before knocking a three-run single in the fifth to end the scoring on the day. 

Six different Ducks drove in runners, with Flannery’s (2-3) six RBI’s leading the way. 

Jones and Kai Luschar were both 3-4 at the top of the lineup for the Ducks. Sinicki and Flannery both recorded two knocks as well. 

The score was so out of hand against the Eagles that Lombardi was able to substitute freely, getting reserve players and freshmen important game experience. Oregon’s 55 runs in a 3-game span is a new school record. 

The Ducks takes on a tougher opponent in UNLV later on Saturday at 3 p.m.

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After rolling through its first game of the season, Oregon needed a bit of comeback flare to secure its second win of the day. 

It wasn’t a last-second thriller, not with the Ducks’ (2-0) talent eventually overmatching a feisty Southern Utah (0-1) offense in their 18-6 win. But with a four-run comeback out of an early hole, Oregon showed some serious mettle that could come in handy against far more talented teams. 

To take that early lead, Southern Utah jumped all over Oregon starter Elise Sokolsky, who was tagged for four earned runs in just 0.2 innings pitched. But Oregon slowly settled down in the circle, and a talented offense that had 18 hits in the blowout kicked into gear — the Ducks never really challenged again. 

To scamper away with its second run-rule victory of the afternoon, Oregon relied on a massive game from freshman Emma Cox, who looked every bit the part of the Ducks’ future behind the dish. Cox blasted two home runs as a part of a four-hit performance in the win, she finished her first day of collegiate softball 6-7 with six RBI’s across the team’s pair of games.

Aside from Cox, Oregon relied on a big game from Paige Sinicki, who tallied three hits, five RBI’s, two homers, one of which was a grand slam and a stolen base. Kedre Luschar added a pair of hits to build upon her already impressive afternoon. 

Eight different Ducks recorded knocks with six Oregon players recording multi-hit performances.

Staci Chambers proved to be a stabilizing force for the Ducks’ pitching staff out of the bullpen, fanning nine, allowing just two earned runs, and earning the win in relief of Sokolsky. The southpaw never really faced any serious trouble and was gifted some relatively stress-free innings as she saw the Ducks’ lead swell after the early scare.

By the time Kai Luschar’s single drove in a pair in the fifth inning, Oregon’s lead was 12 and any early anxiety of an upset was long in the past. After taking the lead with a seven-run third inning the Ducks tacked on one more in the fourth before an eight-run fifth frame put the game way out of reach. 

Oregon hung 13 runs total on the Southern Utah bullpen, nine of which came against Riley Nielson, who allowed 11 hits over just 2.2 innings of work. 

And while Southern Utah was clearly overmatched by the Ducks’ speed and skill, seeing her team punch back even in the early going of the season has to be a positive sign for head coach Melyssa Lombardi’s squad.

Oregon takes on Southern Utah again tomorrow at 10 a.m. before finishing the day against UNLV at 3. 

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On a team with six newcomers in the lineup a semi-familiar face made her presence felt in the Ducks’ 21-1 season-opening win over Buffalo. 

Kedre Luschar — often known for her defensive contributions — hammered a grand slam in the Ducks’ run-rule victory. 

After finishing the 2024 season with a .192 batting average on a team loaded with experience, Luschar hit the weight room this past offseason, vowing to up her power potential.  

“She’s probably one of our strongest athletes,” head coach Melyssa Lombardi said before the season of Luschar. “You wouldn’t think that because she’s so long and slender, but she’s tough and has some physical strength.”

Her work has already paid off as Luschar (2-4, five RBI’s) got to circle the bases after her first-career homer just a few pitches into her senior season.

Luschar’s homer propelled a six-run first inning, allowing the Ducks ample cushion as they settled in with their new roster. It’s the Ducks’ first season-opening win since 2022. 

More runs came in the second when Stefani Ma’ake blasted a home run to left, scoring three. The Ducks added on in the fourth with Katie Flannery’s two-run home run capping off a five-run inning. 

Kai Luschar, Kedre’s sister and staple of Oregon’s recent teams, went 3-4 with a pair of stolen bases. Emma Cox was 2-3 with a double in her first collegiate action and Paige Sinicki recorded a single, walked twice and scored a pair of runs. 

Oregon’s offense dominated behind a clinical one-two pitching combination as well, with Lyndsey Grein tossing 3.1 one-run innings of work and Staci Chambers finishing the job. 

Grein finished with four strikeouts while walking only three. Her only real trouble came in the fourth when she allowed a walk and a single before Chambers came in to shut the door after allowing an inherited runner to score. There were plenty of other pleasing developments in the win, the Ducks’ first as a Big Ten team. 

Transfer players and freshmen were 7-12 with 10 RBI’s and added all four innings of work from the circle. 

Cox, a freshman, looked the part at catcher, recording a pair of hits and holding Buffalo without a stolen base. 

But perhaps most importantly, on a team likely in need of more veteran contributions going forward, Kedre Luschar’s newfound power and outfield savvy helped spur the Ducks’ lineup. 

Oregon takes on Southern Utah later on Friday at 12:30. 

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Oregon women’s basketball was elite, Peyton Scott and Sofia Bell were dominating everywhere on the court while the scoreboard ticked up in their favor on nearly every possession. The Ducks’ energy was off the charts, and the team was in complete control as it flew around and forced turnovers and missed shots despite traveling to the Midwest. The offense was in near-perfect sync as it found either Scott, Bell, or someone else wide open for layups and shot attempts.

It was a team at its peak. And, while it didn’t last forever with No. 16 Michigan State (17-4, 7-3 Big Ten) rallying late, the strong start and continued tenacity on defense were enough for the Ducks (16-5, 7-3) to pull off an upset in their 63-56 road win over MSU.

With Oregon’s first half including the Ducks shooting 4-5 from range, (50% overall) and holding Michigan State to 27% shooting. Thursday provided the Ducks with a clear ceiling on just how well they can play. They sprinted out to a 13-point first-quarter lead and, although they were far from perfect — that advantage was trimmed to as few as three in the fourth quarter— some late free throws and clutch defense helped seal the win.

The Ducks played their best 40 minutes of basketball this season — by far — quickly establishing that they were willing to attack the game from the 3-point line while continuing their remarkable defensive rebrand. Phillipinna Kyei was a matchup nightmare throughout, adding nine points, ten rebounds and three blocks. 

MSU shot only from the field and from 3-point range, with head coach Robyn Fralick frequently calling time-outs in search of answers. The Ducks’ best players, Scott, Deja Kelly and Nani Falatea, all took turns dominating, the trio combining for 32 points. Bell scored 6 and a pair of 3-pointers. 

Former Duck, Grace VanSlooten scored 14 to lead the Spartans, whom the Ducks never trailed. 

Any hopes of a remarkable comeback died out for the Spartans when MSU went on a nearly four-minute scoring drought to end the game. Michigan State outscored the Ducks 16-6 in the fourth quarter alone, but couldn’t get shots to go when it mattered most.

Free throw issues were the primary culprit for the potential collapse, with Oregon finishing the game just 11-19 overall. But, Phillipina Kyei hit a pair with 13 seconds to go, ballooning Oregon’s lead to seven. Oregon is the first team to beat MSU in East Lansing this season. 

Early season clunkers against North Dakota State and Georgia Tech no doubt put a damper on Oregon’s record. But as the Ducks try to figure out how good they can be, they delivered a strong argument for having faith in them, delivering a signature win Thursday against one of the top teams in the nation. The win, coupled with another strong performance on Sunday against Michigan, could propel the Ducks back into the top 25.

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Sports often produce some of the best underdog stories. We gravitate to them with ease and cherish them while they last. But the not-so-secret truth about it all is that nothing beats the innate desire to watch and witness greatness.

 The Ducks’ (13-1) quest for greatness — and perfection —  ended in unremarkable fashion, with the Ohio State Buckeyes (13-2) being the better team for the entirety of their 41-21 win. 

“They clicked tonight, we didn’t,” head coach Dan Lanning said. “I didn’t get our team prepared…we didn’t have any way to stop them.”

The game was exactly as lopsided as the final score suggested, if not more so. The Buckeyes were more dominant at the line of scrimmage. Led by wide receiver Jeremiah Smith — who solidified himself as the best player in the nation with seven receptions for 187 yards and a pair of touchdowns — they were quicker on the outside. They were more aggressive with their early play calling with their first three plays going for 75 yards, all of which were through the air. And even with the incredible opening half, they really never went cold.

Ohio State stormed out to a truly remarkable start, scoring 31 points in just over 21 minutes. The whole thing took less than an hour in real-time. In that span, heroes were made and dreams were destroyed. 

The heroes, mainly Smith, quarterback Will Howard and wide receiver Emeka Ebuka (five receptions for 72 yards) were prolific and proficient, with the offense cutting through the Oregon defense with will. All while Oregon’s offense stalled out by compounding empty possessions.

“He’s NFL ready,” Lanning said of Smith, a freshman. 

The early lopsided scoreboard looked far less likely only a few minutes prior with a remarkable flyover and a notably Oregon-leaning showing from fans. Those factors could have resulted in being a turning point in the game, but they were just another turn of the knife as chants of “O-H-I-O” rang throughout the Rose Bowl. 

Gabriel (29-4, 299 yards, two touchdowns) found Traeshon Holden in the endzone for a five-yard touchdown for the Ducks’ lone scoring drive of the first half. But the Buckeyes made sure only one stat ended up mattering — they outgained Oregon 390 to 139 over the first 30 minutes and 500 to 276 when the clock hit zero. 

“Dillon did an unbelievable job at the end of the half creating a spark for our team,” Lanning said. “A lot of those weren’t natural plays, it wasn’t like the first guy was there… it was guys like Traeshon and the o-line fighting like crazy to extend plays, we just didn’t have enough of those moments today.” 

Injuries littered the Ducks throughout the game, with offensive headliners Evan Stewart injured in warm-ups and Jordan James hurt midgame. But it was defensively where the Ducks struggled the most, being exposed all game long by the hyper-talented Buckeyes who set numerous team and Rose Bowl records on the way. Smith set a new single-game receiving yards record for freshman at Ohio State and TreVeyon Henderson’s 66-yard rushing touchdown was the longest ever for a Buckeye at the Rose Bowl. 

Frustration was the prevailing sentiment from the Oregon side after a game where Ohio State didn’t need to rely on its two NFL-caliber running backs to wreak Oregon’s defense. They did so anyway, with Henderson rushing eight times for 84 yards and two touchdowns one of which went for 66 yards and made the OSU lead 31. Quinshon Judkins (85 yards) did his fair share of damage out of the backfield too, serving as the primary clock-draining antagonist for the Buckeyes. 

“We knew we had to get on the perimeter, take shots and win our one-on-one matchups, and that’s what we did,” Smith said.

“They obviously had a better plan than us… I don’t think our plan was good enough.” Lanning said. 

Reminiscing on unexecuted potential just wasn’t enough Wednesday. Not as the Ducks squandered what chances Ohio State did allow for. Oregon ended the game with a net rushing total of -23.

“We have to be able to adjust a little bit faster,” Lanning said. “There were some things that we were able to get going at points, but we have to be able to adjust faster.”

Lanning was less accommodating when it came to assessing a defensive unit that was gashed throughout, Smith had 161 receiving yards in the first half alone. 

It didn’t have to be this way, Oregon’s fans responded, — boasting an advantage in the 90,732 fans who filed into Pasadena. And they were loud, that is, even at times when the Ducks weren’t giving them reasons to be. But, eventually and understandably, they fizzled out as the clock drained and the stadium emptied. 

Ohio State ate it up, waving their fans on with towels before every big play. The Ducks just got eaten. 

Any hopes of an Oregon comeback were shattered by a pair of third-quarter punts followed by OSU scoring drives. Oregon’s offense struggled to fight through the injuries to James and Stewart en route to averaging just 3.9 yards per play. The Buckeyes sacked Gabriel eight times on the night, and Howard (319 yards, three touchdowns) was left untouched. 

“We had an opportunity,” Lanning said. “We didn’t take advantage of our opportunity.”

Positive opportunities, though, eluded the Ducks as Ohio State broke them down early, often and always — with a consistency that no team has before.

“They don’t have a lot of weaknesses, they have strengths,” Lanning said of Ohio State. “That’s a great team.”

So too are these Ducks, which will make Wednesday’s loss sting even more. 

Future hope is not lost in Eugene, Lanning and his staff have grown the program enough that optimism reigns. Optimism leads to hope. Hope leads to continued donations to one nation’s top NIL funds. Donations lead to players. Players lead to wins.

But the era of silver linings is over. The Ducks want gold, and they’ll have to wait a year for another chance to get it.