Dan Lanning has perfect response to Penn State AD calling Oregon ‘frauds’

Dan Lanning was asked about Pat Kraft’s leaked audio from last week, where the Penn State athletic director called Oregon “frauds” and said there’s nothing going on in Eugene except “a bunch of f*cking weirdos.”

And the Ducks head coach’s response was exactly what you’d expect from someone who has made a habit of using perceived slights as motivation for his team.

“No response,” Lanning told The Zach Gelb Show on Tuesday. “Pat’s trying to do the best job he can for Penn State, but I heard it. It was good.”

I asked Dan Lanning about Pat Kraft’s comments on Oregon.

Here was his response. https://t.co/Mi9u1yGeFl pic.twitter.com/fGxyNuvHPI

— Zach Gelb (@ZachGelb) December 9, 2025

The leaked audio originated from a meeting Kraft had with Penn State players near the end of the regular season, shortly before head coach James Franklin was fired midseason. Kraft was caught on video discussing Oregon among other Big Ten rivals, saying the Ducks “aren’t tough” and taking shots at their location. He also claimed Ohio State isn’t “lightyears better” than Penn State talent-wise and said Michigan was “cheating their balls off” in reference to the sign-stealing scandal. Kraft apologized for the comments during Matt Campbell’s introductory press conference, saying he was embarrassed and fell short of the standard he should represent.

Lanning, meanwhile, has built a small cottage industry out of turning other people’s comments into motivational jet fuel. When Mike Gundy complained about Oregon’s NIL budget before their Week 2 matchup this season, Lanning told his team, “It never requires extra motivation for an opportunity to go out and kick ass, but it never hurts when someone pours gasoline on the fire.”

Oregon then beat Oklahoma State 69–3, which certainly suggested the gas took.

It’s also not the first time Lanning’s edge has turned into a national talking point. His “played for clicks” pregame speech before throttling Colorado in 2023 drew plenty of criticism — Skip Bayless accused him of taking racially-coded shots at Deion Sanders — even as Oregon rolled.

So when Gelb asked whether Ducks fans should expect a classic Dan Lanning speech the next time Oregon meets Penn State, Lanning just smiled. “We’ll see.”

The teams don’t play again until 2027. That’s a long time to remember being called frauds.

But if anyone’s going to hold onto it, it’s Dan Lanning.