Dan Lanning has said it time and time again: He genuinely loves Oregon.

The Duck head coach loves the culture, he loves the school, he loves the program, and he loves the fanbase. After the Ducks beat Stanford on the road, 42-6, Saturday evening, Lanning ran across the field to the north endzone to celebrate with the flock of Oregon fans who made the trip to the game.

Lanning’s passion for Oregon has to bring a smile to the faces of Oregon fans everywhere.

The last guy who held the head coaching job used it as a stepping stone to what was perceived as a bigger job. The guy before him held the job for a year before bolting for another school.

Lanning was briefly linked to an SEC job last season, but shot those rumors down rather emphatically, saying the grass isn’t always greener elsewhere.

Sometimes the grass is greener where you water it. Before the year, Lanning was given a one-year contract extension to keep him in Eugene through 2028 and give him a significant bump in pay.

With that extension, Lanning also agreed to a fixed $20 million buyout should he leave for another school.

“I’ve said before the grass isn’t always greener. Like, I have everything I want here,” Lanning said then. “There’s a vision for this to continue to grow. We’re able to get elite players, I think that’s no secret. As long as we can continue to recruit at a high level, develop, and continue to have world-class facilities, continue to push the bar in everything that we do, everything’s here that’s necessary for us to be successful.”

And with the win over Stanford on Saturday, Lanning has the Ducks off to their first 5-0 start since 2013.