When you have started more career games than any other quarterback in college history, you’re entitled to a few things.

One of those is over-the-top words of praise from your head coach.

But it wasn’t all the adulation that Dan Lanning heaped upon Bo Nix — and there was a lot — following Oregon’s win at then-No. 13 Utah on Saturday that has my interest piqued. It was one word in particular.

“I guess every quarterback is competitive, but this guy’s really intelligent. Really intelligent. And he thinks he’s Goliath and you know what? At times he performs like it. It’s impressive to see him be out there because he has the most confidence in the world in himself. And that confidence really pays off on game day. I don’t know. I can’t say enough great things about Bo Nix. He’s special.”

Did you catch it?

Goliath.

In an age when sad sack coaches are more prone to paint an us-against-the-world narrative, every team a slingshot-wielding David facing unsurmountable odds — as if the massive Oregon Ducks machine is somehow comparable to the Little Engine That Could — Lanning made it clear that Nix is the giant. The bully. The baddest man — or Philistine — on the block.

How refreshing.

We’re watching Washington blow its chance at greatness with a killer edge comparable to an angry yipping Terrier instead of vicious Huskies themselves. We’ve already seen USC crumble under the weight of expectations, its flashy head coach tossing out platitudes like “We’re getting better every week.” We’ve watched as also-rans Utah and Oregon State fall by the wayside.

This league needs Oregon — which debuted at No. 6 in the first Playoff rankings Tuesday night — to embrace its Death Star mentality. I’m all for Darth Lanning.

It’s that kind of bravado and talent that takes a team to the College Football Playoff.

*****

You’re only allowed to throw out the Goliath talk when you’ve done what Oregon has done this season.

Aside from a surprise blip in Week 2 against Texas Tech, when the Ducks needed some of Nix’s late-game magic to escape Lubbock with a 38-30 win, and a 3-point loss at Washington that very well could’ve been a 14-point win, Oregon has won 6 other games by at least 2 scores, often by much more.

The Ducks’ average margin of victory of almost 30 points per game dominates every other Pac-12 school and ranks among Power 5 leaders. Oregon’s scoring offense (44.5 ppg) ranks 3rd nationally and its scoring defense (15.63) ranks 11th.

This is no underdog tale.

“I told our players I think this is what we’re capable of and, since the summer, we’ve talked about the process of good to great and then say, ‘Hey, we’re good. Right? We’re a good team right now.’ And really, what you do in November, that’s going to determine if we’re a great team and we want to play our best football at the end of the season,” Lanning said on Monday.

Saturday’s win over Utah qualifies as best football. The Ducks went 75 yards for touchdowns on 2 of their first 3 drives, then picked off Bryson Barnes and promptly went 30 yards for a touchdown. Oregon was up 21-3 on the road in hostile territory before the Utes could even blink.

Against one of the most talented defenses in the country, the Ducks never let up, passing for almost 250 yards and rushing for almost 150 while allowing zero sacks.

“I remember at the beginning of the year when everyone was talking about our O-line and saying, ‘Man, that’s a really big question mark,’” Lanning said. “I don’t know if that’s a question mark anymore. You talk about a quarterback that’s able to move the pocket. You talk about a coaching staff that puts guys in advantageous situations.”

And speaking of advantageous positions, the Ducks are flying toward a Pac-12 title game rematch against Washington with all the momentum in the world.

*****

Finally, Lanning is taking off the mask.

In more ways than one.

He has embraced Oregon’s role as the league’s best team, and he’s coaching like it. The Ducks are brash. They are insistent. They come at you.

Kind of like a werewolf.

“All of our staff and their families we just did Halloween right around the facility here,” the coach said Monday. “I was wearing a werewolf mask. I don’t normally dress up, but one of the coaches’ wives gave me a hard time that I’m not wearing anything. I’ll say this. A werewolf mask is not the best mask to wear for little kids. So there’s some small children in the facility that I had to rip the mask off quick or they were gonna be very upset.”

How fitting.

You’ve got the Huskies lacking the bite they need to convince CFP voters they deserve to leap the likes of Florida State or Ohio State.

And you’ve got the Ducks, the big, bad, wolves, scaring the bejesus out of children and opposing coaches alike.

And you’ve got Goliath, the wiliest, most experienced quarterback in the country, willing to stomp all over people, ducking that slingshot.

“I’m going to say it again, Bo Nix is the best quarterback in the nation just to be really clear. I don’t think there’s any doubt about it,” Lanning said. “It’s not just the plays he makes on the field … I think a lot of people talk about chasing stats and all these things, this guy just plays consistently. He gets us in the right calls, he comes to the sideline and helps us through adjustments. He tells us what he sees. He’s an unbelievable person. When you have a good team like we have, and we have a quarterback like we have, that’s a special recipe for success.”