Notable quotes from Dan Lanning after Oregon’s 20-17 win over Utah
Some games look good on paper. Some games look better to the eye.
Saturday night’s game between the Oregon Ducks and Utah Utes is not one that will have you diving deep into the box score to see all of the wild stats. Rather, it was a game filled with heart, toughness and a will to win that we haven’t seen in some time in Eugene.
Dan Lanning’s team fought hard, and despite being injured and banged up, it prevailed over the No. 10 Utes, 20-17. It was a game Oregon dominated early, but had to pull out in the very end. Thanks to some stellar play from Bennett Williams and the defense, and a gutsy performance from Bo Nix and the offense, the Ducks kept their Pac-12 Championship hopes alive.
Here are some of the most notable things that Lanning had to say after the victory:
Opening Statement
Lanning: “That was a lot of fun and man we made some mistakes, but we competed until the very end. Offense, defense, special teams, it was really a complete team win. Certainly, there are moments in that game that I’d like to have back. We knew going into it that it would come down to takeaways, I didn’t realize it was going to go both ways. There were three on both sides, you’ve got to take care of the ball in games like that, but that being said, we just felt like every time we took the field offensively, all we needed was one more play, one more opportunity. Defense had their back against the wall a couple times and came up big, made some great plays. I can’t say enough about our quarterback. To play in this game after being banged up, having limited practice reps; for him to go out there and have a gusty performance was really important and special for this team. I’m excited for our win, there’s a lot of love in that locker room. That’s a good team we just played. I’ve got more respect for coach Whittingham than anybody else in this conference, he’s won a lot of ball games and that’s a good team. For our team to win a game like that was a lot of fun.”
Bo Nix Rushing
Question: What went into Bo Nix’s rushing attempt on the last first down of the game?
Lanning: “It certainly was a different game, I don’t think there’s any secret. We asked Bo right before that play if we could run the play knowing that the two options were to hand it off or for him to keep it and he said ‘absolutely.’ That guy’s got heart, he cares about the game, he cares about this team, and I think it shows in the way he plays.”
Bo Nix Rehab
Question: What went into Bo’s rehab this week and everything that he did to be able to play?
Lanning: “He was an aggressive rehab specialist, that’s how we like to term it. He was attacking rehab religiously. I know he would sit here and credit our training staff, we’ve got a great medical staff and sports science group. The first priority was always his health. Early in the week, I didn’t know that he would be able to go. He was aggressive, he continued to work at it. Our medical group did a phenomenal job of assessing where he was at. Later in the week we became more and more aware that we felt like hey this might be a possibility, let’s just see where it goes. This is one of those times where Pac-12 after dark was a good thing, it gave us a little bit more time for rehab, all the way up until the game.”
Bennett Williams
Question: What did you make of Bennett Williams and his performance tonight?
Lanning: “Bennett Williams is a tough kid, man. He’s a tough kid that has high expectations for himself and when his best was needed. He did a great job, always competes, and I was glad he was able to makes some plays for this team.”
Meaning of this win
Question: How satisfying was this win for you guys?
Lanning: “We talked about playing this game with an uncommon purpose. We wanted to play this game for something bigger than just us. This game was about the seniors taking the field for the last time, this game was about Spencer Webb. This game was about getting the ultimate team win and really not worrying about the opinions of others. Sometimes I think our best shows up when everyone else doubts us, which we certainly take note.”
Defense
Question: What allowed the defense to be so good tonight?
Lanning: “All we saw tonight was the standard they want to uphold and play to. It’s that small. I know it doesn’t always look that small. We’re this close to playing at an elite level and that showed up more tonight. We’ve got to do that more consistently, but those guys came to work. They have high expectations for themselves and it was good to see them go out there and perform.”
Rose Bowl Dreams
Question: With a chance to play in the Pac-12 title game and potentially make it to the Rose Bowl, do you allow your guys to think about that as a goal?
Lanning: “There’s an awareness obviously of what exists in front of us. We’ve played our best when we’ve focused on what’s next. That was an elite game, all of our focus and attention was on that game. Now it’s going to be on the next one and you worry about the things you can control and what we can control is how we go perform against a really good Oregon State team. We’re going to enjoy this one tonight and tomorrow we’ll be hard at work for that.”
Offensive Line
Question: What do you make of the offensive line and their ability to protect Nix tonight?
Lanning: “It was super important. Important to throw the ball on time, important for those guys to keep him clean and for the most part they were able to do that. He was able to make elite decisions and get the ball out and those guys protecting him certainly helped.”
Defensive Mindset
Question: What was the mood of this defense after last week’s game and how did that help them get ready for this test?
Lanning: “They were hungry and disappointed. I think I told the team after that game that I was angry and embarrassed for myself. A lot of the players shared the same sentiment but instead of sitting there and crying over spilled milk, we said let’s just get to work and see how we can get better. Those guys are resilient, they do a good job.”
