Oregon Coach Dan Lanning Addresses Future Of Rivalry vs. Oregon State

EUGENE – Coming off a red-hot 3-0 start to the season, the No. 6 Oregon Ducks return home for an in-state rivalry game against the Oregon State Beavers.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning addressed the media Monday night, where he broke down how the rivalry series has changed, what the future of the series is and what it means to his players.

What Lanning Said

Opening Statement:

dan lanning oregon ducks big ten recruiting transfer portal nil oregon state beavers dante moore pac-12 rivalry — Oregon head coach Dan Lanning walks the field ahead of the game as the Oregon State Beavers host the Oregon Ducks Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024 at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Ore. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“It’s gonna be great to be back in Autzen with our fans. Certainly, excited about that. Certainly, this rivalry means something to us, and our players are excited about it. Had some of the guys speak on it a little bit today to the team, so fun one for us. Got in some really good work this Monday and ready to hit the ground running this week.”

On The Difference In The Rivalry Game:

“I think all of college football feels different the last few years, but this game still, still means a lot to us, for sure. And you know, state rights, it's the opportunity to play, you know, team in state, and it's just down the road. A lot of fans grew up either Ducks or Beavs, right? And even in our community in this state. So, this game means a lot to a lot of people. Certainly, means a lot to the people on our team.”

Running Back Noah Whittington Update And Running Back Depth:

“To be determined. We'll see. You know, if he's ready, we'll have him out there. Ultimately, I think we have a good back unit. So, it's something that we've said as a strength, and we said that this is why we prepare the way we prepare, because there's going to be a lot of guys that could be used, and we've got a lot of guys that can play winning football, and that’s certainly a position that’s shown up.”

On The Future Of The Series:

“Control what you can control. It's certainly a game that I hope, you know, stays on the schedule for the opportunity to play somebody in state. Obviously, we travel a little bit more in the Big Ten,” Lanning said.

“I know their conference is going to be reset and different, and they're going to be traveling a little bit more. I think it makes sense to have, you know, teams that can play each other. They're relatively close. And again, I think it's what, 129 years this rivalry’s existed, that's something you'd like to keep alive.”

On What Phil Knight Means To The Program:

“Phil, coach Bowerman, have done so much for this program, and it's very rare that we get the opportunity to say we want to do something in support of them and recognizing that relationship of a player and a coach and what they created. And then the jerseys are super impressive, and like the whole there's a lot of meaning, you know, throughout that.”

“And ultimately, I think if anybody would ask Phil in advance, he'd say, no thanks, right? But when we were able to present that to him, I think it meant a lot to him because of what it stood for wasn't, it's not just about Phil, it's about that partnership between him and the coach, and how that grew into an unbelievable brand and created a lot of success for a lot of people, obviously Oregon, but also a lot of people across the world.”

What The Rivalry Means To His Players:

“The game means a lot to me regardless. But hearing our players talk about it, hearing former players like Ryan Walk talk about this game like that, it definitely makes me want to go out there and execute at a high level, you know? And Bryce (Boettcher) is certainly one of those guys that it means a lot to.”

How The Disappointment In The Way They Finished Against Northwestern Translated To Practice:

“Still disappointed. Disappointed with the way we finished. We want to be a team that wins in the fourth quarter, regardless of who's in, what the situation is. You want to be able to take advantage of those moments,” Lanning said.

“You know, we had the ball, you know, down, tied to the red area, and have to settle, not able to punch that in. We give up two scores there late. That's not something we want to do, right? Doesn't matter the situation. We want to be able to get off the field. We're able to do it in the first three quarters. We didn’t do it in the fourth.”

What The Message Was To The Guys In The Trenches:

“There's a standard of play here, and you got out gained on the ground because you give up the 79-yard run right at the end of the game. So, like, let's just keep it in perspective of what it was now. Ultimately, I didn't think we won the line of scrimmage on first down on either side of the ball consistently enough on Saturday,” Lanning said.

“So, we have to continue to find ways to make sure that we're doing what we need to do as coaches, to put ourselves in that situation, and guys execute properly. But that's what that's what we focus on, is how do we make sure that we take our medicine and do a good job of finding ways to put our players in great position to do their jobs and make sure that they're doing their jobs.”

If The Message Is For Young Quarterbacks To Slide:

“You want to see your quarterback protect himself, but the situations where he's been hit, he's also trying to get the hard yard and get us where he needs to get. Now that that happens in football, it's football,” Lanning said.”

“What you love to see is when you have a tough quarterback, you take a play like that and take a hit, get up and make the next play, right? And that's what he's been able to do consistently this season. But do I like seeing our quarterback get hit? No. I said the same thing with Bo Nix, man. I appreciate a quarterback that goes and fights to get a first down.”

On Defensive Back Theran Johnson’s Debut:

“Winning football, you know. I thought Theron did a good job of executing his job, you know. And we were probably a little hesitant, just to make sure that he was fresh and felt good as he as he was out there. But I thought he did well.”

On His Young Running Backs:

“Let's let them keep complimenting, right? They they're doing a good job, and they're earning more reps and more opportunities as the season's gone. Obviously, (Dierre Hill Jr.’s) had some really explosive runs. (Jordon Davison's) been really good in the red area for us, punching in touchdowns. He runs hard. He had some unbelievable blocks on some of those runs for Dierre as well. So complimentary football, those guys are doing a really good job.”

His Running Back Room’s Mindset:

“They're physical, right? I think these guys take a lot of pride. I heard coach (Ra’Shaad Samples) say it the other day, all right, I want you backs to draw up the four plays that you are most excited to run, or five plays you're most excited to run in this game,” Lanning said.

“And I think Makhi (Hughes) said, he goes, I want to draw the one where I'm blocking, right? Like that kind of tells you a little bit of mindset of the running backs in our room, like they want to do what they can to help this team win. And it's pretty tough to defend when you have backs that can block like they block, but also run the ball like they run and catch the ball in the backfield.”

What They’ve Seen From Linebacker Jerry Mixon The Past Two Seasons:

“I think Brian (Michalowksi's) proven that he can develop linebackers. He does a really good job of that. And then when you have players that are coachable, and want to get better and improve, you know, that's a really good formula for success,” he said.

“And Jerry's since the minute he got on campus, he's been a guy that's really had high ball production, and it's really been attacking some of those other areas of his game to say, okay, this is where we need you to improve. And he's done that. He's attacked it. He's worked really hard,” Lanning continued.

“He's not a guy that says a lot. He just lets his play kind of do the talk, and it's shown up for us in big ways this season so far. And the great part about Jerry is he's recognizing, okay, wait, I can still get a lot better, right? Regardless of what (Pro Football Focus) has me rated, I know I could have done this play better. I could have done this better. And that's what's exciting, is when guys see that and they attack it.”

How Teitum Tuioti And Matayo Uiagalelei Could Have Success Against The Beavers:

“I think this game consistently has come down to, like, line of scrimmage play, and again, that was a disappointment for me last week, I didn't think we handled the line of scrimmage as well as we need to,” Lanning said.

“So that'll be a point of emphasis for us this week. I think it's really important. They'll have they do some things that combat that. The ball is going to come out quick. They're going to use some different stuff in protection, I'm sure some different run game. It's going to challenge you and not allow you just to tee off,” he went on.

“So we'll just have to play what we see. And those guys have great experience. They've been good against the run, and they've been good against you know, when they get opportunities to rush a passer, but those may be limited in a game like this.”

PREVIEW

Rivalry Headed For A Pause?

The Ducks and the Beavers are having very different starts to their seasons, but nothing halts the intensity of a rivalry game. Oregon enters the Sept. 20 matchup at Autzen Stadium with an undefeated 3-0 record, while Oregon State comes in 0-3.

With conference realignment shaking up the trajectories of both programs, the Ducks and Beavers are no longer conference foes. All signs point to the two sides wanting to continue the series as a non-conference matchup.

They currently aren’t scheduled to play past 2025. The last time the two schools faced an interruption in the series was during World War II, without games from 1942-44.

Oregon leads the all-time series with 68 wins, 51 losses and 10 ties. The Ducks are on a two-year win streak, with the last loss happening in Corvallis in 2022.

If Oregon State somehow manages to shock Oregon in 2025, it would be one of the largest upsets in rivalry history given the Beavers’ struggles to open the season and the Ducks’ dominance. The largest margin of victory came in 2017 when Oregon crushed Oregon State 69-10.

Could an even larger win be in store in week 4?

MORE: Noah Whittington Is Pushing Dante Moore As Underrated Force NFL Scouts Can't Ignore

MORE: Dan Lanning Weighs in on State of Our Country in Wake of Charlie Kirk Assassination

MORE: Former Oregon Five-Star Jurrion Dickey Reveals Offer From New Football Program

Oregon’s Week 3 Adversity

The Ducks faced some challenges late in their last outing against the Northwestern Wildcats that they’ll look to clean up before the upcoming game.

Despite clinching the 34-14 victory, Oregon allowed two late touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The Ducks were headed toward a shutout up until the last couple of drives.

“I thought we lacked a little killer instinct there at the end,” Lanning said. “Our standard can't change.”

Quarterback Dante Moore also threw his first interception of the season in the game, but neither Moore nor Lanning seemed too concerned by the play.

“Coach Lanning loves to see how I face adversity,” Moore said. “And I loved the adversity today. Overall, we got the win and that's the biggest thing.”

Even though the Ducks did drop a couple of spots in the AP Poll, they remain undefeated. Mistakes have been minimal for Lanning’s program through the first three weeks, and they’ve played their best football at home.

The last time Oregon prevented an opposing team from scoring was a 35-0 win over the Purdue Boilermakers last season. Since it didn’t happen at Northwestern, the team will look to learn from its past mistakes in hopes of a clean game versus the Beavers.

The Ducks held Oklahoma State to just three points in week 2, while Montana State only scored 13 on them in week 1.