Dan Lanning Reveals Oregon's Bye Week Strategy Before Iowa Game

After defeating the Wisconsin Badgers 21-7 on Oct. 25, the No. 6 Oregon Ducks were officially on a bye week, meaning the program has time to rest and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses heading into the back end of the regular season.

"We always try to make sure that we maximize it and take advantage of it," said Lanning after practice on Oct. 29. "It's a long season, you've got to prepare yourself for it, but our guys use it really well."

Oregon Ducks Iowa Hawkeyes Wisconsin Badgers Red Zone Dan Lanning Kamari Moulton Mark Gronowski Jordon Davison Noah Whittingt — Oct 18, 2025; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning looks on during the first half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at SHI Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Ducks Taking Advantage Of The Break

A bye week for the Ducks program entails a time for reevaluation, recovery, and for players to grow individually with increased practice time.

"I just think more of the experience we continue to get, the composure starts to show up, guys being able to do their job at a high level," Lanning said. "Smooth out small mistakes that we make early in the season when we weren't making as much, but there's new mistakes that we got to go correct."

Oregon may have comfortably won its last two games, but that doesn't mean the program's level of play is at its highest potential. The Ducks' main struggles have been their lack of discipline along the line of scrimmage, which accounted for 75 yards and nine penalties against Wisconsin.

On the defense, an area of attack for the bye week will be to focus on its performance in the red zone. The program does boast the third fewest trips allowed to the red zone, with only 13, but it also has allowed a score each time a team has entered the red, leaving the Ducks tied for last in the country in terms of red zone defense.

"I think we can be a lot better, and we've gotten guys in some tight moments where we've been really close to being off the field," Lanning said. "We got to make sure that we can go capitalize and make people not score when they get down there."

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Starting To Scout Hawkeyes

The main focus for the start of the week for Lanning and his staff is to correct mistakes made against the Badgers, then start applying it to the Iowa Hawkeyes matchup.

In each of Oregon's victories, they've dominated the ground game and out-rushed it's opponent, but Iowa's running back Kamari Moulton might put the Ducks' run defense to a test. Moulton has totaled 413 yards on 79 attempts, averaging 5.4 yards per attempt. His counterpart, Mark Gronowski, has the most rushing touchdowns in Big Ten play with eight total, accounting for 225 rushing yards on 43 attempts.

Oregon's running backs, freshman Jordon Davison and senior Noah Whittington, lead the Big Ten in yards per attempt, averaging 7.9 and 7.4, respectively. However, they are about to face their toughest run defense yet.

Iowa ranks fourth nationally in rushing defense, allowing only 83.9 rushing yards per game and just seven rushing touchdowns this season.

The Ducks will face the Hawkeyes on Saturday, Nov. 8, at Kinnick Stadium, marking Oregon's fourth road game of the year. Securing a win against such a tough defense would not only boost the Ducks' credibility but also strengthen their momentum in pursuit of a College Football Playoff spot.