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Oregon coach Dan Lanning slams Colorado after move to Big 12: ‘I don’t remember them winning anything’

Colorado football has had just one winning season since joining the Pac-12 in 2011

Colorado is headed back to the Big 12 conference next summer, and Oregon football coach Dan Lanning sounds completely unbothered by the move.

Lanning took a very clear, yet accurate, shot at the Buffaloes on Monday.

“Not a big reaction,” Lanning said when asked about Colorado’s plans to return to the Big 12.

"I'm trying to remember what they won to affect this conference and I don't remember. Do you remember them winning anything? I don't remember them winning anything."

Though that’s harsh, he's not wrong.

Colorado has had just a single winning season since joining the Pac-12 in 2011. Outside of their 10-4 finish in 2016, in which they won the Pac-12 South Division, the Buffaloes never won more than three conference games in a single season. They went 0-9 in conference play in 2014, and have four seasons in which they won just a single Pac-12 game. Deion Sanders is Colorado’s fifth head coach since it moved to the Pac-12.

Based on that, it’s easy to see why Lanning and Oregon wouldn’t care much about the Buffaloes’ plans.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning doesn't sound upset that Colorado is leaving the Pac-12.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning doesn't sound upset that Colorado is leaving the Pac-12. (Ali Gradischer/Getty Images)

Colorado officially voted to move back to the Big 12 last week. The Buffaloes’ decision to leave followed USC and UCLA opting to join the Big Ten next season. That will leave the Pac-12 with just nine teams. The Pac-12 still has yet to announce plans for a new media rights agreement — that’s reportedly coming later this week — something that Colorado athletic director Rick George said played a part in their decision to leave.

The Pac-12 is clearly not in a good place, and it feels like it could fall apart at any moment. Arizona is rumored to be considering a jump to the Big 12, which would only complicate things even further for Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff.

But for now, at least publicly, Lanning and Oregon are fine with Colorado leaving the conference.