Dan Lanning Reveals Villain Attitude in Oregon Ducks Win Over Rival Washington

A clutch touchdown from quarterback Dante Moore to wide receiver Malik Benson touchdown and four field goals from kicker Atticus Sappington helped the Oregon Ducks secure a 26-14 victory in Washington and finish the regular season with just one loss.

Coach Dan Lanning spoke to the media postgame about the Ducks’ “villain” mindset throughout the rivalry. He also provided his thoughts about a potential College Football Playoff berth as the program’s attention shifts to the postseason.

What Dan Lanning Said

oregon ducks dan lanning big ten college football playoff washington huskies jeremiah mcclellan dante moore tosh lupoi rival — Oregon head coach Dan Lanning walks the field before the game as the Oregon Ducks take on the Washington Huskies on Nov. 29, 2025, at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Opening Statement:

“All right, those locker rooms are fun. Competitive game. Credit to Washington, they didn't make it easy. This environment is really good. Thought our players handled the chaos extremely well. I don't think the noise affected us. And even heard our fans chanting there at the end, which is awesome to be able to come into somebody else's stadium and create that,” Lanning said.

“We talked about this game was gonna come down to takeaways. I thought that was obviously a big piece of this game. Being able to take away the ball away twice and being able to own the ball on offense. Our kicker obviously played outstanding, four kicks in a tough place to kick.”

“He's been really solid for us down the stretch, but several players coming up making big plays and I know at the very end you get asked, why not kick the field goal? It’s kind of tough angle for the field goal kicker, that tight, and ultimately, fourth-and-one you want that opportunity to go get it. But I thought our guys handled the environment extremely well,” he continued.

“They did a good job eliminating our run game, which is something that showed up, that we got to be able to run it in tough situations. I thought Washington was outstanding there, so we'll have to make sure we can sure that up. But defensively, we played well.”

“Offensively we made some big plays down the stretch. Obviously, that pass to Benson was huge, and altogether, the sideline was incredible. The focus that these guys had, just a really fun group. And the great part is, we're not done playing yet. So excited for that next opportunity.”

What the Win Felt Like:

“I told the players before the game. I said, history is great, but what's more fun is writing history, right? We got to write some history today, which is awesome. And they showed up. Everybody had each other's back. Certainly, this is a big game. It's a big rivalry, one of the best that I've been a part of. So, it was fun to go out there and take care of business today.”

His Excitement for the College Football Playoff:

“I’m excited. Very excited. I'm going to enjoy the moment here for a little bit, probably through the rest of the night, and then start worrying about what our prep plans are moving forward. Our team's banged up. It'll be big for us to get healthy. I think everybody at this point in the season is dealing with that, but there's only 12 teams in the nation that get to keep playing. I mean, some others can play, but in the real one, and we get an opportunity to do that. So, I'm excited about that.”

Managing the Last Month and Half with Not Knowing They’d Be Secure in the Playoff:

“Ultimately, it's always felt the same way. You win, it's up to you, and it's good being in charge. Being in control of your destiny. And if you don't win, you have no excuses. There’s nobody here complaining about what the situation is. Go win. And ultimately, that's the team that gets the opportunity to play in the playoffs. That's the way it's supposed to work.”

“The team that earned it. We went out there and played and won games, like that's what you have to do to get there. It's not supposed to be easy. It's supposed to be hard. The whole season matters. It seems like, obviously, the playoff spectrum has changed a lot over the last couple of years, where it was always about the team that played the most consistent throughout the whole year, got that opportunity, and now it's changed a little bit,” Lanning continued.

“You can have some hiccups. We had one. We learned a lot from it, but you don't get second, third, fourth tries, and we knew that. So, we had to play a certain way to make sure that we have that opportunity, and the guys wanted to make sure we did that on the field.”

If He Thinks He’s Seen the Best From His Team:

“Time will tell. What I do know is this group will come to work. They’re already anxious to get back to work right now, which is pretty awesome. I think the group realizes how special this is. I hope everyone realizes how special it is, where we're at right now, but the only things we can control are what we can control, and that's what we're going to focus on.”

How the Offensive Line Played Through Injury:

“You’re always evaluate all the way up to games. But those are tough guys that wanted to be a part of this opportunity, and they obviously went out and executed. So, it's great when we have those numbers. Talk about strength in numbers, that comes from having numbers, and we had some today.

Wide Receiver Malik Benson’s Touchdown Reception:

“I don't know where Malik finished. I mean, I don't know how many balls he caught. You guys can probably tell me. I know he had like a hitch on the sideline. I mean, that play was as impressive as any. And just the composure, man, even saw the ball security there. You know, for him, having that ball up and tight is a coaching moment,” he said.

“Just all the coaching moments that showed up. Obviously, we had a couple of aggressive penalties there that I’m disappointed in. Lost our composure. I didn't think you'd see that from our team today. One of them was an aggressive block that went a little long, right?”

“One of them is one that we just absolutely can't do, which is disappointing, but overall, really proud of Malik, man. What an unbelievable teammate he's been for us this year. What a great throw by Dante. You know, great protection there. Our guys handled it really well. Our coaches prepared him well.”

Kicker Atticus Sappington’s Performance:

“He just did a great job. We've seen him hit them in practice, right? That was right on the edge of where we felt comfortable giving it a shot. Any time you can walk away with points, I know that sounds funny coming from me, right? It was positive and did a great job putting it through the upright.”

If They Expected Dante Moore to Use His Legs as Much as He Did:

“Yeah, initially. I mean, we had some of that in the plan, but it became something more that we had to do. They did a good job closing the middle of the field. And ultimately, when they're playing with 10, you got to figure out a way to play with 11, and they had loaded boxes.”

“They did a good job stopping our run. That’ll be something I'm anxious to watch, to see what their answers were, but we got a tough quarterback, man, he was able to go out there and get the tough yards when it mattered.”

MORE: Oregon’s New Uniforms vs. Washington Grab Early Attention

MORE: Big Ten Championship Game Set After Ohio State Beats Michigan

MORE: Shedeur Sanders’ Comments About Dillon Gabriel Hint At Something Bigger

Their Effort to Keep Emotions in Check:

“It’s not a lack of emotion. It's about controlling emotions, right? And all week, I thought our guys were focused on controlling their emotions so they could execute at the highest level. And I think they did that today.”

Wide Receiver Jeremiah McClellan’s Performance:

“Man, I’m really proud of him. I thought he came down with that one. Obviously, we went to review it, and we didn't get it. But J-Mac, you know, played well and had great composure in this game. Obviously made some really big plays. And when you start doing things like that, and you have a potent run game as well, it makes it tough to defend.”

How the Defense Played as a Whole:

“I thought Tosh called an outstanding game today. I thought our defensive staff did a great job, and our players did, too. There were some chunk plays, but we felt like chunk plays weren't going to be the difference. Explosive plays were gonna be the difference, and we limited explosives being able to stay on top,” he said.

“When the ball was in the air, I thought we attacked it. Obviously, the (pass interference), that was tough one that you don't want to have. But overall, I thought it was a complete game. Really good job by our defensive staff just going out there round after round, even after the lack of a fourth-down conversion there at the end, to be able to stop them there was huge, too.

His Pride in How the Team Played:

“I just think overall, you look at this team, you look at in a lot of ways our most complete in all three phases, right? We've had great offense at times. We've had great defense. We've had good special teams, but not always in-sync at the same time.”

“And I think this season, we've seen that show up together a lot. At some point, offense will have to put the defense on your back. That kind of happened a little bit last week, right? At some point, the defense puts the offense on their back. That happened this week, in some ways. And then special teams have been really outstanding this whole year. It’s great credit to coach Lorig and coach Tinker, the job that they’ve done, and those guys going out there and executing.”

Keeping Washington Quarterback Demond Williams Jr. in the Pocket:

“That’s probably the hardest guy in the nation to track in the pocket. And you can talk about what, who are you gonna have as a spy? What are you gonna put on him? And every time you're spying, like it showed up on their conversion there at the end where they hit the big touchdown,” Lanning said.

“It's like, we steal a couple guys to protect versus him, you’re putting your guys out in coverage in the back end. And Dillon (Thieneman), I'll have to watch it, but it looked like he played really well. I know our team played physical. We were able to get some good hits on guys. We were able to get the quarterback down at times, too. So overall, man, complete team effort.”

How He Thinks the Fans Will Be for a Potential Home Playoff Game:

“I think they'll be pretty cranked up. Hopefully it's interesting weather. I know it could be fun for somebody coming.”