Dan Lanning Doesn't Hold Back On Playoff Schedule Before Facing Texas Tech

The No. 5 Oregon Ducks and No. 4 Texas Tech Red Raiders will face off in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals on Jan. 1 at 9 a.m. PT. The game will take place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, for the Orange Bowl.

Ahead of the quarterfinals, Oregon coach Dan Lanning spoke to the media and gave a candid response when asked about the time between games in this playoff format.

Oregon Ducks Dan Lanning College Football Playoff Texas Tech Red Raiders Orange Bowl Big Ten Evan Stewart injury update — Nov 9, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning high-fives fans before a game against the Maryland Terrapins at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Dan Lanning’s Opening Statement

"Certainly excited to be here at the Orange Bowl. Definitely pumped to play a great Texas Tech team. Got a lot of respect for Coach McGuire and the job he does. We just wrapped up a practice, and enjoying our time so far in Miami."

Dan Lanning On The Time Between Games

“Yeah, ultimately I think the best way to get good at football is playing football, and the best way to keep your rhythm is to continue to play. So us having that game in a lot of ways helps us keep our process the same, our schedule the same. I think that can be a benefit coming into this game. Our guys have been able to maintain focus, and just really have to focus on one opponent that's really far down the road for a long period of time. Ultimately, it's been a really good setup for our guys.”

“Yeah, I don't have a problem with the byes. I think teams that are higher seeds deserve byes. I think where the big problem is is trying to wait to play the games for a long period of time. Whether there's conference championship games or the end of the season ends at the end of the regular season, to me, games should be played every single week, every Saturday from there on out, so, if there's a bye, there's no more than a two-week window waiting for a team to play.”

“It's different when you have one game. When you have one game, and then there's an opportunity to have another game after that. To me, everybody has been in the playoffs for a long time before Division I football got involved in the playoffs. Once we decided we wanted to do playoffs, we should have ultimately, in my opinion, followed the format of every other playoff model that exists, whether it's the NFL, whether it's FCS football, whether it's Division II football, March Madness. Those games, there's not those long breaks in between. I think that's somewhere we messed up."

How This Quarterfinal Is Different From Last Year’s Coming Out Of The First Round

"We came off a big win from the Big Ten Championship the year before. It's just a lot of time in between. There isn't a lot of time to think, which is good. In my opinion, playoff games should be played in sequential order and really quickly. I think that allowed for a little bit more of that rhythm this year for us, which is good."

The Key To Defeating Texas Tech

"Play our game. We've got two really good teams. Can't go out there thinking about making mistakes. Have to go out there and execute and do your job. Two explosive offenses, two defenses that have played really well throughout the season. But ultimately, we've got an elite quarterback. We've got a team that plays really well together. We need that to show up in this game."

If Preparing For The Quarterfinal Is Different Than Any Other Game

"Yeah, definitely different. I think that's been a benefit for our players, staying in sequence, in rhythm. It's a lot easier to maintain that rhythm for us. But definitely a difference."

Preparing For A 9 a.m. Kickoff

"We practice every morning in the morning. That's kind of our sequence. This will be like 9:00 a.m. for us. That's normally right when we're hitting the practice field. So not that different. Obviously, we got out here yesterday with a little bit of time to prepare and kind of get in rhythm with what the time difference feels like. Got our players up this morning, ready to roll. I think it's something we'll be ready for."

The Big Ten's Postseason 5-0 Record

"I think the record itself speaks for the conference, the quality of players and coaches, and teams in this conference. I definitely think the Big Ten is the best conference in college football. Last two National Championships have indicated that as well. It's a good opportunity, some good teams, good Big Ten teams still playing football right now, and I hope they show up."

Dan Lanning On Texas Tech’s Turnover Margin

"I think the biggest credit to that belongs to their defense and the way they attack the ball. Even when it might be credited as a missed tackle, that's because they're punching and attacking the ball. They do as good a job of anybody that we played in attacking the ball. We have to do a great job of protecting it. And then it's kind of a competition between our defense and their defense on who can create takeaways."

Gaining Players Back From Injury

"Ultimately, injuries this year have really played a part in our theme of the season, which is strength in numbers and being able to lean on guys that can go play winning football for you. We have a lot of guys that can do that, and we have coaches that are doing a good job of being able to adapt."

"When you get guys back, you want to figure out how you can get back in rhythm and be able to utilize those players. But it won't change some of the things that we've been able to create over the last few weeks."

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Dan Lanning On Losing Both Coordinators

"Yeah, one thing, I'll give great credit to Coach Stein and Coach Lupoi. They've worked their tails off. You wouldn't know a difference that they're taking other jobs. They're spending a lot of time at night working on the job that they're about to go into."

"But they're spending a lot of time during the day on the job that they have and the job that they feel responsible for towards our players. They've worked extremely hard, and the players around them have prepared really, really hard, which has been awesome to see."

How Dan Lanning Helps Oregon Find Success Year After Year

"Yeah, it's always been on the forefront of my mind. It's something you want to happen in a program. I think it speaks to a healthy program when coaches get opportunities. I've certainly leaned on some other people on how they've helped handle that situation and what it has to look like. I think the biggest thing is you can't cheat the players. It's something that they've earned, they deserve. We've got to be able to give them our best and adapt to make sure we can give them our best."

Bo Nix’s NFL Success

"Bo is doing great, man. It really fires me up. I think everybody knows I'm a Chiefs fan. But if it's not the Chiefs, I'd love to see an Oregon Duck go take care of business, and Bo has been doing an outstanding job."

Dan Lanning’s Message To The Team

"Play your game, real simple. I'm not getting into our theme of the week, but ultimately go out there and execute the way you're meant to do. What you've shown us a million times in practice, let it show up on the field."

Why Evan Stewart Is Ruled Out

"No, no setback. We just like moving Evan up and down, so you guys talk about it instead of talking about our team."

Advantage Of Playing In The First Round

"Yeah, I think it helps you keep your rhythm, keep your rhythm when you get an opportunity to keep playing football. If you have a long break, it's hard to keep the rhythm and the focus for your players."

Texas Tech’s Biggest Offensive Threat

"Yeah, again, explosive offense. They have receivers outside that can win. They've got running backs that are really good in the run game, a quarterback that makes great decisions, tight ends show up in the passing game. They're able to play with tempo, which will be a challenge at times. That means you have to line up and get the call in play. Ultimately, they're really efficient."

Importance Of Starting Strong

“Yeah, one, Tech is a really strong team. Even if you look at them deep in the fourth quarter, they've really beat their teams by a heavy margin in the fourth quarter. So it's about playing a fourth-quarter battle, but that starts with starting fast. We've been a really good team when we start fast. We've got to be a team that can play all four quarters in this game.”

Hardest Part Of Last Year’s Quarterfinal

"Just the time, maintaining focus, the transition, all the things that go on with the portal. At that time, the portal was already open. A lot of things exist in that window that makes it difficult, but everybody is dealing with it.”

Difference Between Last Year’s Team and This Year’s, And If There’s More Pressure

“I'd certainly say strength in numbers, just the amount of players that we can play. The depth of our roster is certainly different. The mindset, the maturity of our players, it really sticks out to me.”

“There's always pressure, and you want pressure. We expect to go win this game. It's going to be tough because Texas Tech, I promise, expects to go win this game. But that's something you sign up for.”

Dan Lanning On Playing In South Florida

“We love Florida. We love Florida. There's a lot of great talent here. Our offensive line coach, Coach Terry, was talking about wearing an Orange Bowl outfit as a kid, working this same bowl game for a long time as a kid. We have some great players on our team from Florida. We always want to recruit the best, and there's some really good players here in this area. It's an area that we want to do a good job in.”

What Dan Lanning Is Looking Forward To The Most On Game Day

“The game. We get into coaching, there's a lot of things that go outside of that. You get in the opportunity to coach because you want to influence players, you want to make an impact on guys, and then you want a chance to coach in great games like this.”

Keepin The Players Locked In

“Yeah, I think all of us here are different. It's not like your typical bowl game five years ago. The opportunity to keep playing, to take care of business in this game, is one that's really important. When we talk about sacrifice with our team, you're willing to sacrifice some things so you can take the next step. Our team, I have zero concerns about them being here. They're going to make some sacrifices so we can make sure we execute at our best on game day.”

Dan Lanning On The Offensive Line

“Yeah, one, I've been a lot of places, the O-line, the unit as a group, it's stronger here than anywhere I've been. They're truly like brothers in that room. They love and care for each other. I think it's a great indicator of our success this season and why that credit belongs to our O-line. I know they're up for the Joe Moore Award.”

“It's the third year in a row they've been up for that award. I certainly think they're very deserving of that. But ultimately, whoever is up next, they go, and they attack, and they care about the people around them. They're able to have fun. It's a group that has a lot of fun. But when they step on the field, they're very serious and certainly serious about protecting Dante.”

Dan Lanning On If He Thought Oregon Would Lose To Ohio State Last Year

“I thought our guys practiced really hard. They played hard. Ultimately, I thought those guys had a great plan for us, and we didn't have a good plan. Also, they looked fresh and in sync, in rhythm, and I think part of that is probably a credit to them being able to play in a game against Tennessee. But I did not go into that game thinking we were not going to have success. We had some success in the second half. I just think it took us a little while to warm up."

Dan Lanning On If Oregon Is Preparing Different With The Distance Traveled

“Nothing really different than what we've done for our long travel games. We've played at Rutgers this year, Penn State, played at Northwestern. We've traveled probably more than any other team at our level in the country. So that's something we're used to. But also in the spirit of the playoffs, I do think that there should be home playoff games until you get to the National Championship."

"There should be an advantage to being a higher-seeded team. I'm sure we'll have a great turnout here at the Orange Bowl, but ultimately I bet we'd have an unbelievable turnout if this was at Texas Tech, or in the same frame, if this was Eugene, Oregon, or wherever these games could be played.”

If The Team Will Travel Back To Oregon If Ducks Win

“Yeah, we'll go back, and then we'll go to the Peach Bowl. We're used to the travel. You get an eight-day window for the next game, so we'll travel back right after the game, hit the reset button, and then travel back again.”