What Dan Lanning Said After Oregon's Loss to Indiana

The No. 5 Oregon Ducks advanced further than they have in over a decade this season, but the year came to an end in the semifinals of the College Football Playoffs, however, with the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers handing the Ducks a 56-22 loss.

Coach Dan Lanning addressed the emotions in the locker room after the loss and spoke about what made the Hoosiers a difficult opponent.

Everything Dan Lanning Said

oregon ducks dan lanning college football playoff dante moore indiana hoosiers peach bowl bryce boettcher fernando mendoza — Oregon head coach Dan Lanning takes the field as the Oregon Ducks face the Indiana Hoosiers in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 9, 2026, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Hardest Part of Being in the Locker Room Right Now:

“Man, you hurt for those guys because the world is going to judge everybody in that room based on the result tonight. I'm going to judge those guys on the kind of fathers they become someday, the kind of husbands they become someday. But in this moment, you feel like a failure, right, for them, and they're not. They're not failures. These guys won a lot of damn ball games. They've had a lot of success. They've changed some people's lives, but right now, that moment is going to hurt.”

“And the hard part, you know, you got guys like Bryce (Boettcher) that they don't get to be a Duck anymore. They will be a Duck forever, but he does not get to go wear that uniform and go play a game for us again. I really wanted that for them, really wanted them to be able to enjoy that and experience that, and they don't get to.”

“And I didn't do a good enough job of getting them there. They set the stage where there might be an opportunity down the road where somebody in this program is able to create something like that again, but he won't get to share that. But he will be a part of that if we're able to accomplish that moving forward.”

What Quarterback Dante Moore Can Learn From This Experience:

“I think every man can learn from adversity. I just told that whole locker room, right, this is going to be about how you respond in life. This is going to be a life lesson that a lot of people never get. We just got our butt kicked. Right? That's going to happen in life, right, and not just Dante. Every single person in the locker room, every coach, every person can learn, 'Hey, how do you respond to that?' Some people crawl into a hole, right, don't face the music.”

“Some people say, 'Okay, let's figure it out. Let me challenge myself so I can be better. Let me be an example of how you handle moments like this.' I think there is a way to handle that. Dante has been exceptional. Bryce, these guys have been exceptional, stewards of what we wanted to look like all year long. And it's gone right for us 13 times. Didn't go right tonight. And you can't let that overshadow.”

“Every one of us has unbelievable disappointment. Learn from it. But there's a lot of lessons to be learned for everybody in life, and we'll learn the hard lessons here. And you know what, most people will never be in the position where they get to learn that lesson that we get to learn on. These guys were in that position.”

Opening statement:

“First off, all the credit in the world to Indiana. Said it before that they're an unbelievably well-coached team. I think that was really apparent tonight. They started off hot, and they really didn't slow down. They were able to run it and have success. Passing at their defense played outstanding. We were able to generate a little momentum there at times, but we were so far in the hole that you really couldn't create yourself out of that.”

“And the takeaway is obviously they were able to create some. We didn't create those. They won average starting field position throughout the night. Their special teams were special. You see a really complete team. And I think they obviously have a great chance to keep it going and have unbelievable success. Credit to the coach Cignetti and credit to those players. They've got great leadership and a veteran team that really showed up.”

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What Went Wrong:

“Ultimately, there were moments where we had success offensively. But obviously, when you have the takeaways, you start off with the pick six. You get a little bit in the hole. You probably start to press a little bit. You get away from some of the success you have in the run game at times. There's moments that we had some plays, but that's a damn good team. And you gotta give credit to them, too. It's not just what we didn't do, it's what they did do.”

What He Saw From Quarterback Fernando Mendoza:

“Yeah. The guy makes the right decisions. You consistently see if he sees the right coverage, he takes the ball where it's supposed to go, dictated by coverage. I think he did a great job again on the scrambles early. I thought we had him boxed up on the third down early in the game, which was critical and was able to scramble for a first down.”

“That happened a couple of times. They were 11 for 14 on third down. So, when you're able to have that kind of success on third down, you can't get a stop on third down. That's a lot of credit to him, the job he does. He understands what he's doing. He has great weapons to be able to take advantage of.”

How He’d Describe Indiana:

“They're complete. Again, they do a lot, and they do it really, really well. And there's not a weakness in their game. They run the ball well. They stop the run well. They throw the ball well. They defend the pass well. They're great in special teams. So, you see a really complete team, a well-coached team. They obviously have a ton of belief and deservedly so. They're really good.”

What He Wishes He Did Differently:

“I think it's probably too premature for me to speak on what happened tonight until I go back and really evaluate it. We're about growth. It is not just sometimes. I also think you can't discredit that we played well. We've played well at times, even here in the postseason. Yeah, there will be an opportunity for reflection and evaluation, but I couldn't speak on that right now.”

What He Thought About Offensive Linemen Fox Crader and Kawika Rogers’ Performances:

“Again, I'll have to watch the film. I'm sure they did some good things, but I'll have to watch it a little bit closer.”