Dan Lanning Takes Shot at SEC Scheduling After Oregon's Win Over USC

EUGENE – The Oregon Ducks kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive and well with a convincing 42-27 win over the USC Trojans. Even though the Ducks’ offensive depth took additional hits, they showed their ability to win in a variety of ways.

Many argued that whoever won the matchup would make the postseason. Coach Dan Lanning talked about the team’s strength in numbers and revealed why he thinks his team should be a lock for the playoffs.

What Dan Lanning Said

oregon ducks dan lanning usc trojans dante moore injury big ten college footbal kenyon sadiq bryce boettcher iapani poncho — Nov 22, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning greets fans before the game against the Southern California Trojans at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Opening Statement:

“That was a fun one tonight. Our crowd, again, was unbelievable. Great atmosphere that probably were able to go do that, and that environment with our seniors. There's some moments when you sit in that game and you're frustrated because you know that we're not performing to the best of our abilities. A great challenge,” Lanning said.

“Their team is obviously very explosive on offense. Ultimately, I think a lot of it comes down to the physicality we talked about for us to go out and rush for almost 180 yards, and hold them to 52 rushing yards. Gives an indication of how you win this game. What's it look like? Special teams were special tonight. Obviously, a huge return there Malik (Benson). Disappointed in general, just our lack of composure at times. Thought obviously we were penalized in this.”

“Some of them made sense. Some of them maybe didn't. But ultimately, there's certainly some ones that we can go clean up and attack, and we got to be better on third down. Defensively, they had some moments there, but I thought third defense showed up big there at the end of the game to get a stop,” he continued.

“I thought they were big there at the beginning into half for us to be able to control the middle eight, get the ball back. We didn't do enough coming out at halftime, but we won the fourth quarter. That's an area we wanted to be able to attack. But overall, I'm really proud of our guys, proud to go beat a good team, right? These guys are that's a good team that we just played, and ultimately looking for the opportunity for us to grow from this moment.”

What Should Stand Out to the Selection Committee About Oregon:

“Well, we just played a really good team. We'd be in a lot of times. We play really good teams that become unranked all of a sudden. That's not our fault, right? Maybe it is our fault, but all we're worried about is playing the teams that we play and doing the job that we need to do. And we did that job today, right?”

“I think proof's in the pudding. Play a good team. We beat them. All we can do next week is try to do the same thing. And this conference is a really good conference. It's competitive. We didn't play Chattanooga State today like some other places. We competed. So, that being said, it's tough playing nine conference games. It's tough playing in this league. And we got to take advantage of playing a good team today and attacking that.”

Bryce Boettcher’s Touchdown:

“He's been asking for the ball for years, but we really put that in this week. Something we worked on multiple times this week. Worked it again yesterday, worked it Thursday, practice Wednesday, practiced something we felt like that we might be able to carry. And there's some other defensive guys out there as well, with A’mauri (Washington) and Bear (Alexander), but excited to see what it looks like on film. I don't know if anybody could have kept Bryce from getting in that end zone whenever we gave him that opportunity.”

If Bryce Boettcher Has Done Anything in Practice That Made His Touchdown the Play in a Close Game:

“No, not really. I love Bryce, but I like our backs too. We got some pretty good backs back there, but I love Bryce, and I'll tell you this, he's gonna remind me that he's probably 100 percent every time he carries the ball, get that touchdown, so you might see it again. Unbelievable job. Great job by our offense a staff coming up with some creativity that we knew that they had prepared for. So really good execution.”

Tight End Kenyon Sadiq’s Performance:

“I just say, I wish I could do that. Kenyon’s special man. And I always have a good feeling whenever I'm able to touch with base with him before pregame. And he just kind of gave me that look like I'm ready to roll today, which is awesome,” Lanning said.

“And our other tight ends played well today, too. I mean, Jamari (Johnson) had some big plays, but Kenyon’s a special player, man. I think we got, we're lucky to have the best tight end in the nation. His play has shown that we're better when he's out there with us. And certainly he's a tough guy to defend, whether it's him lining up at wide out or if he's blocking the C-area. He does this at a really high level.”

On Their Embodiment of Strength and Numbers:

“All those moments showed up. And guys always talk about being ready for your opportunity, not waiting for your opportunity. There's some guys that were ready for their opportunity. Their number was called, and there's some stuff that we can clean up, but we got a bunch of guys that want to go out there and battle for the man next to him. And they take a lot of pride in what they do,” he said.

“And to be able to take six minutes off the clock there on that last drive when they got a loaded box every down, and the numbers for them are right, but we're still able to out, push and finish physically. That's what really matters. You got a bunch of guys on this team that have unbelievable heart.”

“Noah Whittington showed up the last four weeks in a big way for us, the way he's run the ball, the way he works. You got Bryce Batcher, you got, you got a bunch of seniors that give their all, Charlie Pickard, whose number hasn't been called all year, and he comes in on senior night. I know that's got to be a special moment for him. And there's some moments to clean up, for sure, but what an awesome way for him to get to enjoy senior night.”

The Punt Return Touchdown:

“Contributions, another great example of a guy being ready for his opportunity. And you saw his speed. We've seen his speed all season, especially when he's able to go feel that punt. We did feel like we were gonna have some aggressive opportunities for us on punt return,” he said.

"I thought he did a great job fielding the ball, getting in high gear and getting vertical quick. I'm sure we're in front of the film and see some great blocks on that as well. But it was an awesome play. Huge momentum swing in the game for sure, and great opportunity for them to feel like now that they have to chase some points. right rather than us battling back and forth.”

Offensive Line Play Amidst Injuries:

“I have to go back and watch the film. But, I mean, you said it, we were able to keep our quarterback clean. I thought he did a good job of decision-making. I know we had the one turnover. But ultimately, when you have a lot of changing parts, that's tough, especially with the unit that has to play together and a cohesive unit,” Lanning said.

“And those guys went out there and did that. There were some pre-snap penalties that we have to clean up, a couple errors that we definitely have to get better at, and work on getting our guys healthy to see how we look like moving forward.”

What He’s Seen From Fox Crader:

“He prepared really well this week. Our coaches have a lot of confidence in him. And again, a guy being ready for that. That means he did a lot of work until he got that opportunity too, right? That doesn't just happen on accident. That's a guy that's working his tail off,” he said.

“(Isaiah) World rolled his ankle in the very first play of last game and played the entire game that tells you a little bit about his toughness, but it was severe enough that we felt like he was pretty limited today. Coming in and felt like he could go at moments, but Fox was ready, and certainly got to watch the film and evaluate it, but thought he did some really good things today.”

When He Realized He Had a Deep Roster:

“It probably started early in the season. We're playing some of those games, and we're playing 70 guys in the game. We're playing 80 guys in the game, you're realizing again, if you're good enough, you're old enough. If you can play winning football, you deserve an opportunity to be on the field.”

“And those moments are starting to pay off for us. You never know when it's going to play out. We've been really fortunate when it comes to the injury bug here, and this year, it's been a little bit different. We've dealt with a couple of those things, but ultimately, guys have shown that they're ready. And when you're ready for your opportunity, you know that's a special moment,” he continued.

The Importance of Winning in a Variety of Games:

“Just an example that we can beat you in multiple ways, right? We can outscore you at times. We can hold you to 18, 16, type game win in tough environments, any weather, put the ball down.”

“Let's go play football. That's the kind of team that we have. I'm excited to see the growth that we can walk away from and say, okay, how can we do this better, and there's definitely gonna be some moments like that coming out of this game. We're gonna see some elite passing attacks throughout the season, that's somewhere we can improve. But ultimately proud overall, this team's performance today.”

His Commitment to Oregon:

“No, I don't mind the question. But I guess ultimately people realize at this point that I'm not interested in being anywhere else, like I've said for a long time. As long as I win, I get the opportunity to be here. That's on me, right? So, this is where I'll be as long as I do that,” Lanning said.

“What I can speak to is that my situation's so good that I feel really comfortable saying that, right? I love this place, and more than that, I love the commitment that they've given to me. Somebody gave me this opportunity. Not everybody gets that. I can't speak for anybody else's situation when it comes to that. So, probably tells you how special Oregon is. And certainly, how special I feel getting to be here and getting to coach here. What a privilege that is for me. That's something I'll never take for granted, and I want to be able to see it through.”

The Emotions of Senior Day:

“Just special. Again, this will be a day, I think all of us, as we play we remember our last time getting to play, and especially at this stadium. And I told our guys you probably just added another opportunity. If we continue to do our job, they get to play here again. And ultimately, just for those guys to have that moment, to be able to enjoy that moment, we all wanted to put it on the line for the seniors today, and the guys did that.”

Balancing the Competitiveness of a Rivalry with Keeping Composure:

“For me, all week we've talked about not worrying about that, because the fire and passion is going to come on its own. We've talked all week about execution, not emotion, and it's unfortunate that that showed up."

"And I hope that can be a learning lesson to this group, and we can take that and grow from it. You're going to play this game. You're going to play with juice, especially if you play here. These guys care about each other. They love it. But we got to be able to reset for the next play. We didn't do that enough today. We did that in the second half much better.”

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How They Responded to USC’s Momentum Plays:

“I thought we responded really well, and there's moments we could certainly get better without. What I love was the temperament of our team, right? Regardless, we knew they were going to throw some punches. That's an explosive offense,” Lanning said.

“They hit some big plays on us. I was really pleased with the guys be able to hit the reset button and saying, let's go again. Obviously, the back-to-back pass interference calls those are frustrating. There's some moments that we definitely want to have back, but ultimately, nobody ever had a long face when those moments happened. They were ready for the next play and realizing they can make an impact right behind them.”

Stopping the Run and Putting Pressure on the Quarterback:

“I think it's huge when you can take away a team’s strength. I think they've been able to run the ball really well this season, and for us to be able to stop it was big. But obviously, we want to go back and clean up some of the passing attack that they had. Their quarterback is special. They have some wideouts to make some big-time plays today, contested catches,” Lanning said.

“It was a physical game. From that standpoint, they were certainly going to attack the ball. Our guys were trying to battle and fight and keep them from getting the ball. And we can go improve that. Get better in that area and then just go evaluate it, but proud that we can, like I said, coming in here, rushing for 180 yards and then rushing for 52, I think tells a big story.”

How Vital Causing Turnovers Was:

“We thought takeaways would be a big piece of this game. As common denominator and some of the losses that they've had so far this season, we wanted to be able to protect the ball. Obviously, we turned it over once as well, but I thought our ball security was really good today. Those guys do as good a job as anybody of attacking the ball when it comes to their defense, but our runners ran well with the ball today,” he said.

“And then I thought our defense certainly attacked it. You could go argue that on the fourth down, it would have been better to knock it down and save us a couple yards right rather than take away, but some big plays today, for sure.”