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The Oregon Ducks will participate in a College Football Playoff game on New Year’s Day for the second consecutive season after a convincing win over the James Madison Dukes in the first round.
They will have nearly two weeks of rest before this next contest, and if the game against James Madison was any indication of how this team will perform coming off long periods of rest, they should hit the ground running against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
The Ducks did leave a little bit to be desired on the defensive end, which Dan Lanning made perfectly clear in his postgame press conference, but luckily they have some time to correct their mistakes. This Red Raiders team is loaded with much more talent than the Dukes were, so Oregon will not be able to take their foot off the gas like they did on Saturday.
Here is everything Lanning had to say about Saturday’s win and the upcoming matchup with Texas Tech.
Lanning: Obviously a really exciting opportunity in front of us, get to play a really good team. You start to evaluate Texas Tech, and you see talent across the board. They've got a great roster. They've obviously done a really good job of acquiring and developing talent. I think you see a unit that plays really well together. I think that's, you know, credit to coach McGuire and the job that he's done there. You can see it's a group that plays with energy and enthusiasm. Obviously, on offense, they create a ton of explosive plays, right? On defense, they really limit those and they attack you in every way. They're really aggressive in special teams as well. And they have had really good special teams play. They play on a short field a lot. They attack the ball defensively. I just think it speaks volumes of their program and how they operate and what they do. So, you don't see a lot of deficiencies.
You know, they take risks, but they're well calculated risks, and do a really good job. So as we prepare for these guys, it's certainly a challenging opponent, an exciting opportunity for us.
Q: What has the response been from the team after feeling disappointed with some of the play on Saturday?
Lanning: Yeah, they've been great. These guys, you know, they know that they can play to a higher level. And that being said, I think there's moments in that game that you see a really, really good team play at a really high level. It's been that way all year. But these guys are just ready to work, excited about the opportunity in front of them.
Q: What have you learned about Joey McGuire over the last few years?
Lanning: Yeah, I mean, Joe is an outstanding coach, and you always have an appreciation for a guy that's worked his way up through the ranks and, you know, obviously has a storied career as a high school football coach, and then for his ability, I think you've always seen a guy that coaches with unbelievable passion. You know, we've obviously got to compete against each other before, but I think the players take on the temperament of you as a coach. And he's a guy that brings the juice, and you see that with his team, his team plays like that. Play like their hair is on fire. And obviously he's elevated in this profession and done an unbelievable job at Tech, you know, creating a culture there, and creating a great roster, putting the right people around him. I think he deserves a ton of credit for that, and what he's built and what he's created.
Q: Is there anything you can learn from your last meeting with Texas Tech?
Lanning: Again, I think you get the mindset of their team. Obviously, that was a scrappy game, it was a tough battle for us. You know, there's some changes that have changed for their team since then, different coordinators on both sides of the ball, but you see the way that they compete, the edge that they play with. I think a lot of that comes from their head coach, you know, but they're doing some really good stuff on both sides, like I said of the ball. Their defense, obviously, you know they’re a team that plays a lot of base. They got some linebackers out there that are really aggressive. They have a ton of production, play with great vision. Their front is, you know, one of the best that we've seen this year, if not the best that we've seen this year, got great edges that can rush. They've created a lot of negative plays with the way that they play. And then on offense, they got two really big wideouts outside. You got a really good run game, got a quarterback that can get the ball to spots, and they play with great tempo, you know. So all those things proceed present a lot of challenges, a little different than maybe what we saw before, but still some really good variables in there.
Q: How do you think both of these teams have evolved since your last meeting?
Lanning: I think both rosters are considerably different, right? You know, we look a lot different now than we did then. We had a really good team then, but I think we have, depth. It's a little bit different now in comparison. And certainly they have a really good front, like I said, they've got some really good pieces to the puzzle. And I think it takes, you know, special person to be able to take all the people from different spots and create that team culture that they clearly have.
Q: Do you think you have an advantage compared to Texas Tech who has been off for a month?
Lanning: I don't know if there's a decided advantage. I think it's just more of an indicator that the way we do playoffs in college football is messed up, right? I mean, in my opinion, we're really excited to be going to the Orange Bowl, but this game should be played at Texas Tech, right? They’re the higher seeded team. We should play a week after the last game. The next playoff game should be the next Saturday. The next playoff game should be the next Saturday, the next playoff game should be the next Saturday, and then the championship game. But we're trying to fit a lot of things in a different sequence, but in my opinion, should be played at Tech. There should be a home field advantage for them. But I know their fans will travel. Our fans will travel. We're really excited to be playing the Orange Bowl. So I could talk about what-ifs and all those pieces. There's definitely a skill and an art to making sure that your team's prepared when you have long breaks, and I think that was clear last year, certainly will be clear now. You have a little bit more time to prepare for this game, but a little bit different than the last one. And that's the other part that doesn't make really a lot of sense, is the sequence of days in between each game and each playoff, there’s just not really a rhythm. And for us as a coach, it's about how you create that rhythm. How do you challenge yourself to say, okay, how can we keep things the same as much as possible for our players? And it's tough when you have big gaps and big breaks like that. But I don't know that it's a decided advantage for one team or the other. You're dealing with different issues.
Q: What makes Jacob Rodriguez so special?
Lanning: Super instinctual, really aggressive. And it's not necessarily just aggressive with them blitzing him. It's his ability to find ways to get to the ball, and then when he gets to the ball, he has the intention to get the ball out every snap, Right? He takes shots at the ball consistently. You know, obviously, in the Big 12 championship game, you see their other linebackers show up, making interceptions. They just play really well as a unit. And he's certainly a guy that brings that same juice for them, you know, you see the whole defense play with that mindset. And I think he's where it starts.
Q: Speak about the juxtaposition between your elite pass protection and their elite pass rush?
Lanning: Again, they generate a ton of negatives, and a lot of it comes from rush and coverage, rushing the four guys up front and letting the guys in the back end cover. And they do an outstanding job of that. They've got an arsenal of pass rush moves that you see show up, especially on the edges. Those guys are a matchup issue. They do a really good job. So, we'll have to do a great job of protecting the quarterback and making good decisions there.
Q: Will the players get a chance to take a break for the holidays?
Lanning: Yeah, there's not really that opportunity. And our players bought into that when we hopped in the playoff mode, said, “Hey, we're gonna kind of take our break now at the beginning,” and I think it was a good reset for them. But you know, we'll be working, you know, they'll get some time just right around Christmas, and we'll get some time to fellowship with each other. But beyond that, it's going to be really intent and focused on Texas Tech.
Q: How important is Teitum Tuioti to your defense?
Lanning: Teitum Tuioti does not get enough credit. I don't know if everybody in college football recognizes what kind of player we have in Teitum. He's gotten better every single year. He's disruptive. He's a player impact guy. Plays the run extremely well, rushes the passer well. There’s a lot of things that Teitum does really well. He's really smart player. Obviously, he's Tony's kid, so he's grown up in it his entire life, but you see a guy that executes at a really high level and makes an impact in every game for us. And I mean, you just said it, it's not easy to go get a tackle for loss in every game, and it's not like we're calling every play for him to go make a tackle for loss every single snap, either. So for him to make that impact, that's really a credit to him and being a great finisher.
Q: How is Jordon Davison doing?
Lanning: Yeah, I think that he'll be in good shape for this next game.
Q: What do you make of Texas Tech building their roster through the transfer portal?
Lanning: He's built a great roster. And college football's about adapting. This is obviously a program that’s done an unbelievable job at adapting and saying, “Okay, let's make our team the best they can possibly be,” and they've done that this year, so they deserve credit for that, because you have to evaluate, there's a lot of teams that take people out of the portal, right? There's not a lot of teams necessarily that always have success. It's about evaluating that talent, getting them to play together, and create a team that does that. This is a team that's done that.
Q: What makes Behren Morton so good?
Lanning: Yeah, again, they operate extremely fast, and he makes great decisions. He's a guy that can, you know, make the throws necessary. He's got great weapons and I think he understands that, right? When I'm throwing it to these guys, they have tight ends that can catch the ball. They have running backs to catch the ball out of the backfield. They’ve got really big wideouts outside, slot receivers. They throw the screen game extremely well. They attack down the field. You know, you don't have the amount of explosive plays they've had this season without having a good operator at quarterback, right? And he's been a great operator and done a great job there.
Q: How do you think the redshirts performed after reviewing the game film?
Lanning: Great to have some players back. You know, I know Corey didn't have a million catches in that game, but he had some outstanding blocks in that game. Same thing with Gary, was able to make an impact in that game. It's great to have those guys out there. We see those guys as guys that are leaders for our team and do an unbelievable job. And even though they were limited a little bit in practice, the role can grow for them because of their health and then getting back and getting healthy, and then Matt's been a player that's grown all year. I'm really proud of, you know, Matt Johnson and Gavin as well. Those are guys that have bounced back and forth between giving us looks and then being guys that are in the rotation to be able to play for us. You know, for courtesy to them, we felt like they could have certainly played more snaps this season, but being close enough to where, how big of a role is that, do we give them an opportunity to red shirt? We thought that was in the best interest of them as players, but they're guys that could definitely be out there on the field helping us, and they were able to do that on Saturday, and continue to see their role growing as the season goes on for us.
Q: Do you change your messaging depending on the player?
Lanning: Yeah, I think ultimately, the players, understand the stakes of this game, right? It means a ton to them, so it's probably more on the other end of, okay, let's focus on consistency, of what's got us to where we're at this point. And how do we, you know, attack the things that we have to improve on? But everybody knows the stakes. You know, these are moments that you're excited to go be a part of. And these guys have earned it, but they've earned it with being consistent.
Q: How will all your returning players help your team?
Lanning: Just the variety that you're able to carry. And I think anytime you have the weapons that we have it’s really hard. When sometimes we play a team, you're like, Okay, if we can take away this wideout, we take away a strength, we can roll coverage to this guy. It's really difficult against a team like us, with what we have at tight end, what we have at wideout, with what we have at back, and the ability to run the ball the way we’ve been able to do it, having a quarterback that can throw it anywhere and everywhere, you know, all those things have really added up. So, strength in numbers is something that's paid off for us all season. And now having those guys back and fresh, it definitely gives us, you know, the ability to attack people in different ways.
Q: Are the mistakes the defense made on Saturday fixable?
Lanning: I won't really get into detail, just because, you know, there's things that we can definitely attack, that we can do better. The biggest piece is just getting off the field, eight? We had some sustained drives in that game, and we gave up more explosive plays in that game than we have in the past. So, figure out ways to limit those and get off the field.
Q: How have Tosh Lupoi and Will Stein done with their added responsibilities?
Lanning: Their focus has been incredible, with everything that they're dealing with, you know, and there's a lot, and it's a real challenge. Again, I've experienced it myself, so I know what that looks like, but they've done an unbelievable job being able to attack, put in the same amount of effort and work, and there's just not more hours in the day. So, you're working outside of those hours, and you're not getting a lot of sleep, and that's the part you hope, that we're all getting enough sleep that we can be effective when we go out there, but the focus, the attention to detail, like that hasn't changed. It wouldn't look any different if we went Week Five in the season or Week Six, like the intent and the focus that these guys have put on in their game prep is really good.
Q: Can you speak again about how good Jacob Rodriguez is?
Lanning: A little bit of what I said about him already, you know, the ability to play with great instincts. He's a very instinctual player. You know, I think that they do a great job closing zones and closing pictures. For those guys in the back end, they attack the ball. Obviously, when you're up for the Heisman, there's a reason, right? And he's been that guy. He consistently attacks the ball. That's the one thing that really stands out on film is, you know, the way he runs the ball and the way he attacks the ball when he's tackling people. He’s not just trying to tackle, he's trying to knock the ball loose.
Q: How has Dante Moore progressed over the course of the season?
Lanning: Yeah, I think the biggest piece is just experience, man, like getting more reps and more opportunity, more time. Our quarterback is not the same quarterback when he started the season. And the decision making process, there was a couple that didn't go his way the other night. But ultimately, you see a guy that’s gotten better and better each week. His understanding, knowing how to solve problems, right? He knows that, right? He knows how to solve problems within our offense. He can check to a lot of things himself that allow us to have success, and I think he's proven he can make every throw, and he's got a lot of weapons that he can use. And that's probably the biggest piece that makes Dante different, is every route's alive on every play. Anybody can get the ball on every play, and that's not always the case in every offense.
Q: How is Texas Tech putting David Bailey in a position to succeed?
Lanning: Yeah. I mean, he's certainly improved, right? He's a player that's gotten better. But again, I think the misconception here is that these guys are really good at rushing the passer and they're not disruptive in the run game, and these guys are both, right? They're one of the best run defenses in the nation. But that's something you heard early in the season about, oh, these guys can rush the passer, can they stop the run? These guys can stop the run as well, they strike blocks. Both edges, like I said, are really strong players, do a great job. Obviously end up in the backfield a ton, and when they do get the opportunity to rush, they take advantage of it.
Q: How do you learn from other elite coaching staffs this time of year?
Lanning: You watch film, you're always learning, right? And that's one thing that's exciting about playoff football, is you start saying, Okay, that's a really good play, right? There's games that came from, you know, our game this past Saturday where I'm saying, “Okay, how can we challenge ourselves do some of the things that these teams are doing,” but you know, you're really focused more than anything on your own team, but there's just an admiration and respect for teams that are doing it at a high level, and Texas Tech certainly one of those teams.
Q: Can you speak about how good this Red Raiders rushing attack is?
Lanning: One, yards after contacts stands out right away. 20 obviously does a great job of stop- and-go. I think they have a really good balanced attack with both those guys. Inside runner, eight runs extremely hard, break a lot of tackles. They both have great, top-end speed, so it shows up. And I think, again, the part that’s probably not credited enough is the amount of receptions out of the backfield. You know, I think they've got 54 receptions out of the backfield between the two of them. And that's another place where the quarterback does a great job of getting down to check downs when the vertical shots aren't there, or in the screen game, or easy throws on the perimeter. But they break tackles, they run extremely well, they run really hard, they break a lot of break a lot of tackles, and create extra yards after contact.
Q: What do you see from Texas Tech that the national media doesn’t?
Lanning: One, good football is good football. I've always said that here, you know, regardless of what conference you're in, are you playing a high level of ball? And these guys play a really high level of football, right? And they've not just played opponents, they've dominated opponents. So, there's a ton of respect for them, because they've got the winning formula, right? They protect the ball. They attack the ball on defense, right? They create explosives on offense. They prevent explosives on defense, they play really good special teams play. I think all those things show up. You say, “what's a good football team?” Those are the attributes, they have those attributes.
Q: Can you talk about Keith Patterson and how he helped get you to where you are today?
Lanning: Yeah, I've told it several times, but yeah, I was anxious to get into college football, and Coach Patterson gave me my first opportunity. I actually talked to him again last week and congratulated him on his success there at Abilene and the job he's done, but ultimately, waited in the lobby until I got an opportunity. And that's what I wanted, was just an opportunity to be able to coach college football, and Keith is the guy that gave me that opportunity. So, forever grateful for him.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Top quotes from Dan Lanning before CFP game vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders
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They will have nearly two weeks of rest before this next contest, and if the game against James Madison was any indication of how this team will perform coming off long periods of rest, they should hit the ground running against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
The Ducks did leave a little bit to be desired on the defensive end, which Dan Lanning made perfectly clear in his postgame press conference, but luckily they have some time to correct their mistakes. This Red Raiders team is loaded with much more talent than the Dukes were, so Oregon will not be able to take their foot off the gas like they did on Saturday.
Here is everything Lanning had to say about Saturday’s win and the upcoming matchup with Texas Tech.
Opening Statement
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Lanning: Obviously a really exciting opportunity in front of us, get to play a really good team. You start to evaluate Texas Tech, and you see talent across the board. They've got a great roster. They've obviously done a really good job of acquiring and developing talent. I think you see a unit that plays really well together. I think that's, you know, credit to coach McGuire and the job that he's done there. You can see it's a group that plays with energy and enthusiasm. Obviously, on offense, they create a ton of explosive plays, right? On defense, they really limit those and they attack you in every way. They're really aggressive in special teams as well. And they have had really good special teams play. They play on a short field a lot. They attack the ball defensively. I just think it speaks volumes of their program and how they operate and what they do. So, you don't see a lot of deficiencies.
You know, they take risks, but they're well calculated risks, and do a really good job. So as we prepare for these guys, it's certainly a challenging opponent, an exciting opportunity for us.
Remain Steady
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Q: What has the response been from the team after feeling disappointed with some of the play on Saturday?
Lanning: Yeah, they've been great. These guys, you know, they know that they can play to a higher level. And that being said, I think there's moments in that game that you see a really, really good team play at a really high level. It's been that way all year. But these guys are just ready to work, excited about the opportunity in front of them.
Scouting the Competition
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Q: What have you learned about Joey McGuire over the last few years?
Lanning: Yeah, I mean, Joe is an outstanding coach, and you always have an appreciation for a guy that's worked his way up through the ranks and, you know, obviously has a storied career as a high school football coach, and then for his ability, I think you've always seen a guy that coaches with unbelievable passion. You know, we've obviously got to compete against each other before, but I think the players take on the temperament of you as a coach. And he's a guy that brings the juice, and you see that with his team, his team plays like that. Play like their hair is on fire. And obviously he's elevated in this profession and done an unbelievable job at Tech, you know, creating a culture there, and creating a great roster, putting the right people around him. I think he deserves a ton of credit for that, and what he's built and what he's created.
Reminiscing
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Q: Is there anything you can learn from your last meeting with Texas Tech?
Lanning: Again, I think you get the mindset of their team. Obviously, that was a scrappy game, it was a tough battle for us. You know, there's some changes that have changed for their team since then, different coordinators on both sides of the ball, but you see the way that they compete, the edge that they play with. I think a lot of that comes from their head coach, you know, but they're doing some really good stuff on both sides, like I said of the ball. Their defense, obviously, you know they’re a team that plays a lot of base. They got some linebackers out there that are really aggressive. They have a ton of production, play with great vision. Their front is, you know, one of the best that we've seen this year, if not the best that we've seen this year, got great edges that can rush. They've created a lot of negative plays with the way that they play. And then on offense, they got two really big wideouts outside. You got a really good run game, got a quarterback that can get the ball to spots, and they play with great tempo, you know. So all those things proceed present a lot of challenges, a little different than maybe what we saw before, but still some really good variables in there.
Evolution
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Q: How do you think both of these teams have evolved since your last meeting?
Lanning: I think both rosters are considerably different, right? You know, we look a lot different now than we did then. We had a really good team then, but I think we have, depth. It's a little bit different now in comparison. And certainly they have a really good front, like I said, they've got some really good pieces to the puzzle. And I think it takes, you know, special person to be able to take all the people from different spots and create that team culture that they clearly have.
Scheduling Dilemma
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Q: Do you think you have an advantage compared to Texas Tech who has been off for a month?
Lanning: I don't know if there's a decided advantage. I think it's just more of an indicator that the way we do playoffs in college football is messed up, right? I mean, in my opinion, we're really excited to be going to the Orange Bowl, but this game should be played at Texas Tech, right? They’re the higher seeded team. We should play a week after the last game. The next playoff game should be the next Saturday. The next playoff game should be the next Saturday, the next playoff game should be the next Saturday, and then the championship game. But we're trying to fit a lot of things in a different sequence, but in my opinion, should be played at Tech. There should be a home field advantage for them. But I know their fans will travel. Our fans will travel. We're really excited to be playing the Orange Bowl. So I could talk about what-ifs and all those pieces. There's definitely a skill and an art to making sure that your team's prepared when you have long breaks, and I think that was clear last year, certainly will be clear now. You have a little bit more time to prepare for this game, but a little bit different than the last one. And that's the other part that doesn't make really a lot of sense, is the sequence of days in between each game and each playoff, there’s just not really a rhythm. And for us as a coach, it's about how you create that rhythm. How do you challenge yourself to say, okay, how can we keep things the same as much as possible for our players? And it's tough when you have big gaps and big breaks like that. But I don't know that it's a decided advantage for one team or the other. You're dealing with different issues.
Heisman Candidate
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Q: What makes Jacob Rodriguez so special?
Lanning: Super instinctual, really aggressive. And it's not necessarily just aggressive with them blitzing him. It's his ability to find ways to get to the ball, and then when he gets to the ball, he has the intention to get the ball out every snap, Right? He takes shots at the ball consistently. You know, obviously, in the Big 12 championship game, you see their other linebackers show up, making interceptions. They just play really well as a unit. And he's certainly a guy that brings that same juice for them, you know, you see the whole defense play with that mindset. And I think he's where it starts.
Unstoppable Force vs. Immovable Object
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Q: Speak about the juxtaposition between your elite pass protection and their elite pass rush?
Lanning: Again, they generate a ton of negatives, and a lot of it comes from rush and coverage, rushing the four guys up front and letting the guys in the back end cover. And they do an outstanding job of that. They've got an arsenal of pass rush moves that you see show up, especially on the edges. Those guys are a matchup issue. They do a really good job. So, we'll have to do a great job of protecting the quarterback and making good decisions there.
Holiday Break
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Q: Will the players get a chance to take a break for the holidays?
Lanning: Yeah, there's not really that opportunity. And our players bought into that when we hopped in the playoff mode, said, “Hey, we're gonna kind of take our break now at the beginning,” and I think it was a good reset for them. But you know, we'll be working, you know, they'll get some time just right around Christmas, and we'll get some time to fellowship with each other. But beyond that, it's going to be really intent and focused on Texas Tech.
Flying Under the Radar
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Q: How important is Teitum Tuioti to your defense?
Lanning: Teitum Tuioti does not get enough credit. I don't know if everybody in college football recognizes what kind of player we have in Teitum. He's gotten better every single year. He's disruptive. He's a player impact guy. Plays the run extremely well, rushes the passer well. There’s a lot of things that Teitum does really well. He's really smart player. Obviously, he's Tony's kid, so he's grown up in it his entire life, but you see a guy that executes at a really high level and makes an impact in every game for us. And I mean, you just said it, it's not easy to go get a tackle for loss in every game, and it's not like we're calling every play for him to go make a tackle for loss every single snap, either. So for him to make that impact, that's really a credit to him and being a great finisher.
Injury Update
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Q: How is Jordon Davison doing?
Lanning: Yeah, I think that he'll be in good shape for this next game.
Similar Styles
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Q: What do you make of Texas Tech building their roster through the transfer portal?
Lanning: He's built a great roster. And college football's about adapting. This is obviously a program that’s done an unbelievable job at adapting and saying, “Okay, let's make our team the best they can possibly be,” and they've done that this year, so they deserve credit for that, because you have to evaluate, there's a lot of teams that take people out of the portal, right? There's not a lot of teams necessarily that always have success. It's about evaluating that talent, getting them to play together, and create a team that does that. This is a team that's done that.
Quarterback Duel
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Q: What makes Behren Morton so good?
Lanning: Yeah, again, they operate extremely fast, and he makes great decisions. He's a guy that can, you know, make the throws necessary. He's got great weapons and I think he understands that, right? When I'm throwing it to these guys, they have tight ends that can catch the ball. They have running backs to catch the ball out of the backfield. They’ve got really big wideouts outside, slot receivers. They throw the screen game extremely well. They attack down the field. You know, you don't have the amount of explosive plays they've had this season without having a good operator at quarterback, right? And he's been a great operator and done a great job there.
Redshirt Returns
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Q: How do you think the redshirts performed after reviewing the game film?
Lanning: Great to have some players back. You know, I know Corey didn't have a million catches in that game, but he had some outstanding blocks in that game. Same thing with Gary, was able to make an impact in that game. It's great to have those guys out there. We see those guys as guys that are leaders for our team and do an unbelievable job. And even though they were limited a little bit in practice, the role can grow for them because of their health and then getting back and getting healthy, and then Matt's been a player that's grown all year. I'm really proud of, you know, Matt Johnson and Gavin as well. Those are guys that have bounced back and forth between giving us looks and then being guys that are in the rotation to be able to play for us. You know, for courtesy to them, we felt like they could have certainly played more snaps this season, but being close enough to where, how big of a role is that, do we give them an opportunity to red shirt? We thought that was in the best interest of them as players, but they're guys that could definitely be out there on the field helping us, and they were able to do that on Saturday, and continue to see their role growing as the season goes on for us.
Stay the Course
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Q: Do you change your messaging depending on the player?
Lanning: Yeah, I think ultimately, the players, understand the stakes of this game, right? It means a ton to them, so it's probably more on the other end of, okay, let's focus on consistency, of what's got us to where we're at this point. And how do we, you know, attack the things that we have to improve on? But everybody knows the stakes. You know, these are moments that you're excited to go be a part of. And these guys have earned it, but they've earned it with being consistent.
All Hands on Deck
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Q: How will all your returning players help your team?
Lanning: Just the variety that you're able to carry. And I think anytime you have the weapons that we have it’s really hard. When sometimes we play a team, you're like, Okay, if we can take away this wideout, we take away a strength, we can roll coverage to this guy. It's really difficult against a team like us, with what we have at tight end, what we have at wideout, with what we have at back, and the ability to run the ball the way we’ve been able to do it, having a quarterback that can throw it anywhere and everywhere, you know, all those things have really added up. So, strength in numbers is something that's paid off for us all season. And now having those guys back and fresh, it definitely gives us, you know, the ability to attack people in different ways.
Keeping Secrets
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Q: Are the mistakes the defense made on Saturday fixable?
Lanning: I won't really get into detail, just because, you know, there's things that we can definitely attack, that we can do better. The biggest piece is just getting off the field, eight? We had some sustained drives in that game, and we gave up more explosive plays in that game than we have in the past. So, figure out ways to limit those and get off the field.
Full Plate
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Q: How have Tosh Lupoi and Will Stein done with their added responsibilities?
Lanning: Their focus has been incredible, with everything that they're dealing with, you know, and there's a lot, and it's a real challenge. Again, I've experienced it myself, so I know what that looks like, but they've done an unbelievable job being able to attack, put in the same amount of effort and work, and there's just not more hours in the day. So, you're working outside of those hours, and you're not getting a lot of sleep, and that's the part you hope, that we're all getting enough sleep that we can be effective when we go out there, but the focus, the attention to detail, like that hasn't changed. It wouldn't look any different if we went Week Five in the season or Week Six, like the intent and the focus that these guys have put on in their game prep is really good.
Double Dipping
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Q: Can you speak again about how good Jacob Rodriguez is?
Lanning: A little bit of what I said about him already, you know, the ability to play with great instincts. He's a very instinctual player. You know, I think that they do a great job closing zones and closing pictures. For those guys in the back end, they attack the ball. Obviously, when you're up for the Heisman, there's a reason, right? And he's been that guy. He consistently attacks the ball. That's the one thing that really stands out on film is, you know, the way he runs the ball and the way he attacks the ball when he's tackling people. He’s not just trying to tackle, he's trying to knock the ball loose.
Going Through Changes
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Q: How has Dante Moore progressed over the course of the season?
Lanning: Yeah, I think the biggest piece is just experience, man, like getting more reps and more opportunity, more time. Our quarterback is not the same quarterback when he started the season. And the decision making process, there was a couple that didn't go his way the other night. But ultimately, you see a guy that’s gotten better and better each week. His understanding, knowing how to solve problems, right? He knows that, right? He knows how to solve problems within our offense. He can check to a lot of things himself that allow us to have success, and I think he's proven he can make every throw, and he's got a lot of weapons that he can use. And that's probably the biggest piece that makes Dante different, is every route's alive on every play. Anybody can get the ball on every play, and that's not always the case in every offense.
All-American
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Q: How is Texas Tech putting David Bailey in a position to succeed?
Lanning: Yeah. I mean, he's certainly improved, right? He's a player that's gotten better. But again, I think the misconception here is that these guys are really good at rushing the passer and they're not disruptive in the run game, and these guys are both, right? They're one of the best run defenses in the nation. But that's something you heard early in the season about, oh, these guys can rush the passer, can they stop the run? These guys can stop the run as well, they strike blocks. Both edges, like I said, are really strong players, do a great job. Obviously end up in the backfield a ton, and when they do get the opportunity to rush, they take advantage of it.
Always Learning
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Q: How do you learn from other elite coaching staffs this time of year?
Lanning: You watch film, you're always learning, right? And that's one thing that's exciting about playoff football, is you start saying, Okay, that's a really good play, right? There's games that came from, you know, our game this past Saturday where I'm saying, “Okay, how can we challenge ourselves do some of the things that these teams are doing,” but you know, you're really focused more than anything on your own team, but there's just an admiration and respect for teams that are doing it at a high level, and Texas Tech certainly one of those teams.
Identical Strengths
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Q: Can you speak about how good this Red Raiders rushing attack is?
Lanning: One, yards after contacts stands out right away. 20 obviously does a great job of stop- and-go. I think they have a really good balanced attack with both those guys. Inside runner, eight runs extremely hard, break a lot of tackles. They both have great, top-end speed, so it shows up. And I think, again, the part that’s probably not credited enough is the amount of receptions out of the backfield. You know, I think they've got 54 receptions out of the backfield between the two of them. And that's another place where the quarterback does a great job of getting down to check downs when the vertical shots aren't there, or in the screen game, or easy throws on the perimeter. But they break tackles, they run extremely well, they run really hard, they break a lot of break a lot of tackles, and create extra yards after contact.
Don’t Underestimate Them
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Q: What do you see from Texas Tech that the national media doesn’t?
Lanning: One, good football is good football. I've always said that here, you know, regardless of what conference you're in, are you playing a high level of ball? And these guys play a really high level of football, right? And they've not just played opponents, they've dominated opponents. So, there's a ton of respect for them, because they've got the winning formula, right? They protect the ball. They attack the ball on defense, right? They create explosives on offense. They prevent explosives on defense, they play really good special teams play. I think all those things show up. You say, “what's a good football team?” Those are the attributes, they have those attributes.
Humble Beginnings
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Q: Can you talk about Keith Patterson and how he helped get you to where you are today?
Lanning: Yeah, I've told it several times, but yeah, I was anxious to get into college football, and Coach Patterson gave me my first opportunity. I actually talked to him again last week and congratulated him on his success there at Abilene and the job he's done, but ultimately, waited in the lobby until I got an opportunity. And that's what I wanted, was just an opportunity to be able to coach college football, and Keith is the guy that gave me that opportunity. So, forever grateful for him.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Top quotes from Dan Lanning before CFP game vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders
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