Dan Lanning’s Oregon Receives 19.43M News to Leave Arch Rivals USC in Dust

“Big games create big brands,” once said Kirk Herbstreit, as Oregon vs. Indiana stole the show. Coming off a dominant win against Penn State, Dan Lanning’s team looked ready for their conference game, and when two undefeated teams collide, the atmosphere becomes more intense than ever. But despite the 30-20, Oregon got most of the audience through 7 weeks, surpassing USC’s viewership. It looks like, one way or the other, Oregon loves to win.
No doubt that losing to Indiana cost Oregon significantly as they fell in the rankings. They plummeted from No. 3 to No. 8 after Week 7, their first regular-season loss since 2023. Despite all the setbacks, Oregon attracted a large number of viewers through 7 weeks, which puts them at the No. 1 spot.
That’s right, Super West Spots hits X with the list of total reported 2025 TV viewers, and Dan Lanning’s team holds the top spot for the West Coast college with 19.43 million viewers. Whereas USC sits at no. 3 with 12.52 million viewers.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Well, these numbers make sense. In Week 5 of the season, when Oregon went up against Penn State, the game was broadcast on NBC and Peacock and went up to 8.5 million viewers, as per Nielsen Big Data. It is also among this season’s most-watched college football games so far. Colorado ranks second with 16.67 million viewers as they downed Iowa with a 24-17 to place second in the viewership battle. On the other side of the rankings, UNLV scored the lowest with 74k viewers.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Look, the viewership makes sense, as Dan Lanning did all in his power to grab the audience’s attention. He took off his shirt to hype the crowd, standing on a chair next to Pat McAfee, who did the same. On top of it, McAfee even did his famous field goal challenge, putting up a prize amount from $300,000 to $1 million. But it looks like Oregon had no luck, as the student who kicked the ball missed it on both attempts, which even raised eyebrows online.
But with all of that, Oregon’s offense took a significant hit last week. Indiana held them to just 276 yards, a team averaging more than 500 yards this season, and even troubled Dante Moore throughout the game. He was sacked 6 times and just completed 21 of 34 passes, which makes his completion rate of 62% his lowest in the season. Their rushing game was nothing less than a disaster, as Indiana held them to 81 rushing yards.
Dan Lanning and his team need to work on defending against Rutgers’ offense. With that, Dan Lanning’s team takes another hit at OL.
Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports
Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Dan Lanning gets real on Kyler Kasper
Oregon takes another major hit as its wide receiver, Kyler Kasper, is out for the entire season after undergoing foot surgery. As Dan Lanning confirms it ahead of the Rutgers game, this marks his second straight year out of the field. “Had an injury to his foot,” Lanning said. “Ended up having surgery on that. So, he won’t be available for us, unfortunately.” Kasper got into the team with a lot of hype with his four-star status and a 159th rank by On3; even scouts praised him as a “contested catch specialist.”
But repeated injuries made his season nothing more than a disaster. And this came in at the worst possible timing, as Oregon’s passing attack ranks 52nd in the nation with an average of 251.3 yards per game. Even though Kasper just played four games in the season, recording two catches for 51 yards, his size and ball skills showed his potential.
Now, Dan Lanning has to rely on other wideouts with him out of the team. For now, Dakorian Moore leads the pack with 23 receptions for 335 yards, and Gary Bryant Jr. stands out as a red zone threat with 4 TD catches.
It’s yet to be seen how Malik Benson and Kenyon Sadiq will step up to fill the gap. Losing Kasper is a major blow to their offensive rhythm. Let’s wait and see how they bounce back from their loss against Indiana.