Penn State provides Oregon an opportunity to finally put last season in the past

EUGENE, Ore. — The way last season ended still eats at Oregon coach Dan Lanning , all these months later. When I asked him this summer how the Ducks turned the page from a 41-21 shellacking at the Rose Bowl, Lanning told me he hasn’t. He still thinks about it every night before he goes to bed and every morning when he wakes up. He joked that he should probably see a therapist.

I was thinking about Lanning’s comments a lot this week during my trek to and from Eugene. I went to chat with Lanning and his coordinators ahead of the massive Oregon-Penn State game this weekend in State College. It’s a game that features the No. 3 Nittany Lions and No. 6 Ducks, a matchup very much deserving of its “White-Out” designation and one that will kick off at primetime on NBC.

For all the talk this wee