The leadup to the Holiday Bowl didn’t go quite as planned for the Oregon Ducks.

Between losing five-star quarterback commit Dante Moore to UCLA, the loss of offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham to Arizona State, the transfer portal departures and NFL draft-related bowl opt-outs, there was mounting reason for Ducks fans to be discouraged from investing in this final game the same way they had all season.

But fast forward to National Signing Day, Oregon quickly picked up steam on the recruiting trail by replenishing the 2023 class with four-star quarterback Austin Novosad (a late flip from his previous Baylor commitment), five-star defensive end Matayo Uiagalelei (a signing day recruiting win over USC and Ohio State), and four-star cornerback Daylen Austin (a flip from LSU) among others.

Now with a dramatic 28-27 Holiday Bowl win, Ducks fans can feel comfortable with how the season -- and the first year of the Dan Lanning era -- concluded both on and off the field.

"I can't thank the guys in this locker room [enough]," Lanning said afterward. "It's really easy when there's change and transition -- especially for some of these guys change they didn't pick, some change they did -- it's really easy to buckle up. Especially when you talk about the adversity we saw early in the season when it didn't go our way. But this group has never stopped and never wavered."

Of course, every college football program is getting accustomed to embracing change and transition at this time of year now due to the transfer portal, but it's been an eventful month for Oregon on multiple fronts.

Though Moore’s flip to UCLA was most notable, it wasn’t as much of a surprise as some might’ve thought. Losing Dillingham to his alma mater Arizona State meant that some commitments would inevitably fall through, and the relationship between a quarterback and his offensive coordinator proved ever-important.

“We’re never going to trick someone into coming to Oregon,” Lanning said after signing day. “I think when there’s a sales pitch that doesn’t fit, what you realize is you're going to lose people in your program.”

Lanning didn’t waste much time finding his new offensive coordinator by nabbing UTSA’s Will Stein to call plays for the Ducks next season. With the addition, Stein brought his state of Texas connections, accelerating the Ducks' late push for Novosad (who is from the Austin area).

Novosad was previously committed to the Baylor Bears for a full year, before receiving an offer from the Ducks and eventually signing his National Letter of Intent just a day later.

Then came college football’s most dreaded and also sought-after facet: the transfer portal.

Oregon lost some elite talent with linebacker Justin Flowe going to Arizona, wide receiver Dont'e Thornton (uncommitted), and tight end Moliki Matavao heading south to UCLA just to name a few.

But what the Ducks lost, they made every effort to restack the roster with talented prospects from around the nation.

They made waves by adding a pair of Alabama transfers (both former four-star recruits) in wide receiver Traeshon Holden and cornerback Khyree Jackson, an experienced offensive lineman from Texas in Junior Angilau, and another highly coveted offensive lineman Ajani Cornelius, from Rhode Island.

“I think everyone sees what we’re building and I think there are some players that want to be a part of something special,” Lanning said. “They’ve realized you can reach all of your goals and aspirations right here.”

But nailing the landing Wednesday night was important in a lot of ways, too. Especially after the stumbles down the stretch against Washington and Oregon State, the come-from-behind rally to top the Tar Heels for the team's 10th win, led by a star quarterback in Bo Nix who has already announced his return for 2023, does a lot to define the momentum the Ducks will take into the offseason.

"We talked about coming in tonight and really finishing the season with not a period but an exclamation point, and I'd say that was an exclamation point," Lanning said.