The Oregon Ducks couldn't have had a better first season in the Big Ten.
They did everything except win a national title. During the regular season, the Ducks beat the eventual national champion Ohio State Buckeyes and took down Penn State to win the league title this past December.
Last month, Oregon had 10 players turn pro, including its quarterback, Dillon Gabriel.
Even with the production Oregon lost, and key transfer portal acquisitions in running back Makhi Hughes and offensive lineman Isaiah World, ESPN says it still has more to prove this fall.
In Friday's ESPN top 10 coaches list, Lanning, alongside Ryan Day and Penn State's James Franklin, made the cut from the Big Ten. Even with Lanning's impressive transition from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, it was only good enough for No. 6.
Bill Connelly did not rank Lanning on his unofficial ballot, while Harry Lyles Jr. said Lanning is a coach college football fans should note if they don't already, ranking him fourth overall.
📲 Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
"When creating my top 10, I considered experience and success, while also asking myself what coach I would want to start a program with. Lanning unquestionably has to be high on that list, in part because of his previous experience before becoming the head man, and his success as a head coach," Lyles Jr. said.
To Lyles Jr., Lanning is the furthest thing from a hype train waiting to crash.
"He's shown an ability to get the most out of players, and carried Oregon's momentum from his first two seasons at the helm into its first season in the Big Ten by winning the conference with an undefeated record. I don't think he's finished raising the standard in Eugene," Lyles Jr. said.
In steps quarterback Dante Moore to replace Gabriel, who told 247Sports last month how excited he is to fill the void of a now-Ducks icon who threw 30 touchdowns to only six interceptions a year ago.
"I just know Coach [Dan] Lanning always tells me pressure is a privilege," Moore said. "I just feel like I'm blessed to be here, blessed to be where I'm at overall, just in general, not really think about, you know, down, down the line, down the season. I think like I'm thinking about every day, just how I'm getting better at practice, how I'm helping the team around me get better. But overall, I say, you know, it's always good to think ahead, but right now, I'm just living in the moment."
The Ducks will rematch Penn State this September, and they have a chance to prove they are the better team with a new quarterback at the controls.
If things break correctly, Oregon could also wind up with a chance to exact revenge on the Buckeyes this postseason.
For now, only time will tell.