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The College Football Playoff is nearly here — the point that the Oregon Ducks have been scratching and clawing to get back to for the last 12 months after their heartbreaking Rose Bowl loss last season. They aren’t as highly seeded this year because they weren’t undefeated, but the expectations remain the same with a wide open postseason field.
Even the programs ranked higher than the Ducks are led by inexperienced quarterbacks, or ones who have never battled under the bright lights against such elite competition. Oregon will host the James Madison Dukes in the first round and have a chance to stray away from some of the concerning trends they’ve revealed this year.
The team hasn’t been great coming off of byes this season, so it’s anyone’s guess as to how poised they will look on Saturday after three weeks away from the field. Let’s check what Dan Lanning had to say about the extended time off and the upcoming game with the Dukes.
Lanning: JMU obviously have done an exceptional job all year. You talk about one of the few teams that's a top-10 offense, top-10 defense. You watch their offense, they create expensive plays all over the board. The quarterback can run the ball, the running back can run the ball. They extend it down the field. Defensively, they create a lot of issues, a lot of different looks, a ton of variety that we have to be able to practice and go through, but overall, really excited about the opportunity for our guys.
Q: How are Tosh Lupoi and Will Stein handling their added responsibilities?
Lanning: They’ve handled the prep great, right? But you got two jobs, and they're doing their job here at Oregon. A total level of focus and commitment on their part. You know, there's a lot of guys in this building, they know that this has never been just about them on either side of the ball. We have a lot of coaches involved in that prep, but ultimately, they're handling it really well.
Q: What has the message been to the younger guys on the roster?
Lanning: You just said it, it's one day at a time. Your routine, you try to keep it the same. It's a new group, but this group has experience. They played a lot of games this year, and it isn't just another game, right? It's different from that standpoint, right? It's an elimination game. But these guys know what the prep looks like.
Q: Have you spoken to your players about how special it is to have a home playoff game?
Lanning: We talked about it back when we played here before. You know, this hopefully isn't our last opportunity to play on this field. And obviously guys like that are really excited. We had a senior day here, right? And one of those guys were wondering, is this gonna be my last moment to get to play there? And we knew if we took care of business, there'd be another opportunity.
Q: How has the three weeks off benefited your team?
Lanning: Yeah, able to finish up strong academically, a chance for us to be able to do a reset as a coaching staff and evaluate “What are we doing really well? What do we need to improve? What wrinkles can we add?” And then just a good, continued growth opportunity for our players.
Q: How much involvement has Drew Mehringer had with the offense this week?
Lanning: Yeah, I mean, there's a ton of involvement. I mean, since the day we got here, Drew's been very strategic in all elements of our game plan, run game, pass game included, personnel changes. He's had a lot of that. But, you know, every single offensive coach has been really, really involved in that.
Q: What threat does James Madison’s quarterback pose with his running ability?
Lanning: Yeah, you said it, like he can move it with his legs. But I think what he doesn't get enough credit for is the ability to connect on deep balls downfield. You know, they're a team that has a great play action game, and they're able to hit shots, you know, on post routes, and able to attack you down the field vertically. But obviously he can run and creates an 11th hat.
Q: Were you able to install more things into the scheme during the bye weeks?
Lanning: Yeah, I think we've challenged ourselves through that, throughout the season, where we always have new wrinkles, new opportunities. We'll see what comes up in this game.
Q: What do you think you do that allows you to platform so many great coordinators for head coaching jobs?
Lanning: I don’t think it's anything that I'm doing. I think we hire really good people that work extremely hard, and they realize that at Oregon, there's an opportunity to continue opportunities, and those guys reach their opportunities. So we got people that work really hard at their job. There's clear direction of the expectations, and those guys do a great job of modeling what it should look like to get that opportunity and become a head coach. They've learned that, they've sat in that seat, and maybe it's a different seat, but there's a lot of open lines of communication that are gonna allow them to have success.
Q: What does it mean to you for so many of your players to be receiving honors?
Lanning: Yeah, I always think individual success is an attribute to the job that the whole team's done. And I think every one of those guys, I didn't see who was awarded what, but we have a lot of guys who deserve recognition. You know, it's great that people are recognizing what our players are doing, but I think every one of those guys will tell you, any success that's coming their way, it's a derogative of our team's success.
Q: Can you speak about Trey McNutt and his rehab process?
Lanning: Yeah, he's done a great job. And all these guys have been really eager, but again, it's about us protecting them from themselves at times. But they have been really eager to get out there and do the work.
Q: What has Chris Hampton’s involvement been like with the defense?
Lanning: Every guy is in charge of individual pieces of the game plan, but obviously, you know, Coach Hampton’s done an outstanding job. I think our secondary units are growing and have gotten better every single year, and that's credit to coach Hampton and Ra’Shaad and the job that they've done, Coach, what dude, and really just the entire defensive staff, but very involved. We make all of our decisions together. It’s very few times we split off into different rooms to make decisions. We come back and collectively and say, what's good, what's not good, and work through those details. But he's an outstanding coach, and excited for his opportunities here.
Q: What has the work and time distribution been like with you and the coordinators?
Lanning: Yeah, ultimately, it's been when we're here at work, our hours haven't changed, and when we're here that's focused on Oregon, right? And then outside of that time is when you have the opportunity to work on things for your other opportunities.
Q: What do you make of the Dukes’ dominant defensive line?
Lanning: Yeah, one just extremely disruptive, and they do a great job creating one-on-ones, you know, making it challenging where guys are gonna have to win single blocks, they're gonna have to win one-on-one blocks. ID and protections are difficult at times too because of some of the looks that they present.
Q: How important was that month of November for this playoff run?
Lanning: I think you always feel the pressure in moments, especially when we had a hiccup early against Indiana, that, you know, we didn't have any room, you know, to leave any indecision for anybody afterwards. And our guys really approached that with each game, you know, has a life of its own, and we have to go attack it. And we can do it in a variety of ways. And I think that's probably the biggest thing we showed, is we can win in different ways. I think all three phases came together quite a bit in the last four games, where special teams were making big plays, defense or offense were making big plays for us, that was certainly the difference.
Q: How do you feel about Bear Alexander wanting to return next season?
Lanning: Yeah, certainly not the next year yet, but excited about a guy like Bear that wants to come back. You know, I think it shows a great deal of maturity on his part, and how he's grown and developed into the player that we all knew he could be, and he's gotten better and better each week. Continue to see that growth from him. So, excited about what that means for our future.
Q: Is it plausible for Makhi Hughes to play?
Lanning: Yeah, I think it’s plausible for several of our players.
Q: What area has the offense improved in the most over the course of the season?
Lanning: Probably more than anything, self-inflicted wounds. And that's just everybody being on the same page, all 11 guys doing their job. Something we grade every single game is our ability to execute our job, or at least do our job. It's not necessarily about winning the one-on-one, but you were where you're supposed to be. I think a lot of it starts when you can eliminate beating yourself, and you beat yourself when you have one guy doing something else.
Q: What is the message to the guys when nobody is doubting you?
Lanning: Yeah, our standards are standard, right? And this team wouldn't be here if they didn't play well all season and they beat teams that, on paper, you’d say this team has talent, you know, that can out-prepare this team. That's not the case with these guys. These guys have handled those moments this year and been able to perform really well. So you look, I watch the film, and I see a really good team that's explosive, that has ability to create plays, but it's really ultimately for our team still going to be about us and our ability to execute.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Top quotes from Dan Lanning before College Football Playoff run
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Even the programs ranked higher than the Ducks are led by inexperienced quarterbacks, or ones who have never battled under the bright lights against such elite competition. Oregon will host the James Madison Dukes in the first round and have a chance to stray away from some of the concerning trends they’ve revealed this year.
The team hasn’t been great coming off of byes this season, so it’s anyone’s guess as to how poised they will look on Saturday after three weeks away from the field. Let’s check what Dan Lanning had to say about the extended time off and the upcoming game with the Dukes.
Opening Statement
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Lanning: JMU obviously have done an exceptional job all year. You talk about one of the few teams that's a top-10 offense, top-10 defense. You watch their offense, they create expensive plays all over the board. The quarterback can run the ball, the running back can run the ball. They extend it down the field. Defensively, they create a lot of issues, a lot of different looks, a ton of variety that we have to be able to practice and go through, but overall, really excited about the opportunity for our guys.
Multi-Tasking
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Q: How are Tosh Lupoi and Will Stein handling their added responsibilities?
Lanning: They’ve handled the prep great, right? But you got two jobs, and they're doing their job here at Oregon. A total level of focus and commitment on their part. You know, there's a lot of guys in this building, they know that this has never been just about them on either side of the ball. We have a lot of coaches involved in that prep, but ultimately, they're handling it really well.
Growing up Fast
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Q: What has the message been to the younger guys on the roster?
Lanning: You just said it, it's one day at a time. Your routine, you try to keep it the same. It's a new group, but this group has experience. They played a lot of games this year, and it isn't just another game, right? It's different from that standpoint, right? It's an elimination game. But these guys know what the prep looks like.
No Place Like Home
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Q: Have you spoken to your players about how special it is to have a home playoff game?
Lanning: We talked about it back when we played here before. You know, this hopefully isn't our last opportunity to play on this field. And obviously guys like that are really excited. We had a senior day here, right? And one of those guys were wondering, is this gonna be my last moment to get to play there? And we knew if we took care of business, there'd be another opportunity.
Rest and Recovery
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Q: How has the three weeks off benefited your team?
Lanning: Yeah, able to finish up strong academically, a chance for us to be able to do a reset as a coaching staff and evaluate “What are we doing really well? What do we need to improve? What wrinkles can we add?” And then just a good, continued growth opportunity for our players.
Added Responsibility
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Q: How much involvement has Drew Mehringer had with the offense this week?
Lanning: Yeah, I mean, there's a ton of involvement. I mean, since the day we got here, Drew's been very strategic in all elements of our game plan, run game, pass game included, personnel changes. He's had a lot of that. But, you know, every single offensive coach has been really, really involved in that.
Dual-Threat
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Q: What threat does James Madison’s quarterback pose with his running ability?
Lanning: Yeah, you said it, like he can move it with his legs. But I think what he doesn't get enough credit for is the ability to connect on deep balls downfield. You know, they're a team that has a great play action game, and they're able to hit shots, you know, on post routes, and able to attack you down the field vertically. But obviously he can run and creates an 11th hat.
Never Stop Building
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Q: Were you able to install more things into the scheme during the bye weeks?
Lanning: Yeah, I think we've challenged ourselves through that, throughout the season, where we always have new wrinkles, new opportunities. We'll see what comes up in this game.
Cultivating Greatness
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Q: What do you think you do that allows you to platform so many great coordinators for head coaching jobs?
Lanning: I don’t think it's anything that I'm doing. I think we hire really good people that work extremely hard, and they realize that at Oregon, there's an opportunity to continue opportunities, and those guys reach their opportunities. So we got people that work really hard at their job. There's clear direction of the expectations, and those guys do a great job of modeling what it should look like to get that opportunity and become a head coach. They've learned that, they've sat in that seat, and maybe it's a different seat, but there's a lot of open lines of communication that are gonna allow them to have success.
All-American Ducks
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Q: What does it mean to you for so many of your players to be receiving honors?
Lanning: Yeah, I always think individual success is an attribute to the job that the whole team's done. And I think every one of those guys, I didn't see who was awarded what, but we have a lot of guys who deserve recognition. You know, it's great that people are recognizing what our players are doing, but I think every one of those guys will tell you, any success that's coming their way, it's a derogative of our team's success.
Successful Rehab
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Q: Can you speak about Trey McNutt and his rehab process?
Lanning: Yeah, he's done a great job. And all these guys have been really eager, but again, it's about us protecting them from themselves at times. But they have been really eager to get out there and do the work.
Different Defense
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Q: What has Chris Hampton’s involvement been like with the defense?
Lanning: Every guy is in charge of individual pieces of the game plan, but obviously, you know, Coach Hampton’s done an outstanding job. I think our secondary units are growing and have gotten better every single year, and that's credit to coach Hampton and Ra’Shaad and the job that they've done, Coach, what dude, and really just the entire defensive staff, but very involved. We make all of our decisions together. It’s very few times we split off into different rooms to make decisions. We come back and collectively and say, what's good, what's not good, and work through those details. But he's an outstanding coach, and excited for his opportunities here.
Changing Times
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Q: What has the work and time distribution been like with you and the coordinators?
Lanning: Yeah, ultimately, it's been when we're here at work, our hours haven't changed, and when we're here that's focused on Oregon, right? And then outside of that time is when you have the opportunity to work on things for your other opportunities.
Disruptive Defensive Line
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Q: What do you make of the Dukes’ dominant defensive line?
Lanning: Yeah, one just extremely disruptive, and they do a great job creating one-on-ones, you know, making it challenging where guys are gonna have to win single blocks, they're gonna have to win one-on-one blocks. ID and protections are difficult at times too because of some of the looks that they present.
Needed That
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Q: How important was that month of November for this playoff run?
Lanning: I think you always feel the pressure in moments, especially when we had a hiccup early against Indiana, that, you know, we didn't have any room, you know, to leave any indecision for anybody afterwards. And our guys really approached that with each game, you know, has a life of its own, and we have to go attack it. And we can do it in a variety of ways. And I think that's probably the biggest thing we showed, is we can win in different ways. I think all three phases came together quite a bit in the last four games, where special teams were making big plays, defense or offense were making big plays for us, that was certainly the difference.
Coming Back
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Q: How do you feel about Bear Alexander wanting to return next season?
Lanning: Yeah, certainly not the next year yet, but excited about a guy like Bear that wants to come back. You know, I think it shows a great deal of maturity on his part, and how he's grown and developed into the player that we all knew he could be, and he's gotten better and better each week. Continue to see that growth from him. So, excited about what that means for our future.
All Options on the Board
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Q: Is it plausible for Makhi Hughes to play?
Lanning: Yeah, I think it’s plausible for several of our players.
Offensive Growth
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Q: What area has the offense improved in the most over the course of the season?
Lanning: Probably more than anything, self-inflicted wounds. And that's just everybody being on the same page, all 11 guys doing their job. Something we grade every single game is our ability to execute our job, or at least do our job. It's not necessarily about winning the one-on-one, but you were where you're supposed to be. I think a lot of it starts when you can eliminate beating yourself, and you beat yourself when you have one guy doing something else.
Finding Motivation
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Q: What is the message to the guys when nobody is doubting you?
Lanning: Yeah, our standards are standard, right? And this team wouldn't be here if they didn't play well all season and they beat teams that, on paper, you’d say this team has talent, you know, that can out-prepare this team. That's not the case with these guys. These guys have handled those moments this year and been able to perform really well. So you look, I watch the film, and I see a really good team that's explosive, that has ability to create plays, but it's really ultimately for our team still going to be about us and our ability to execute.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Top quotes from Dan Lanning before College Football Playoff run
Continue reading...
