Oregon Freshman Brandon Finney Turns Heads With Comments After Orange Bowl

Oregon Ducks defensive back Brandon Finney Jr. has turned heads throughout his true freshman sesason, but his Orange Bowl performance was his best one yet. Finney's comments after being named the Defensive Player of the Game stand out just as much.

"You get out what put in. Even if I didn’t have the season I’m having right now, I would still be putting in the work. I’m not really expecting any outcome. I do it just to build confidence," Finney said in his on-field interview with ESPN's Stormy Buonantony after the game.

Oregon Ducks Brandon Finney Orange Bowl Texas Tech Red Raiders interception dan lanning tosh lupoi college football playoff — Jan 1, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Oregon Ducks defensive back Brandon Finney (4) is interviewed by. ESPN’s Katie George following the 2025 Orange Bowl and quarterfinal game of the College Football Playoff against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Hard Rock Stadium. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The true freshman has started in every game for Oregon thanks in part to this mature mindset. Finney came to Eugene as a highly-touted recruit, but his breakout season was hard to predict. Still, his confidence in himself and his team was evident after the Orange Bowl win.

"I believe we have the best defense in the country. From the front to the secondary to the linebackers, I mean our culture led by Coach Tosh (Lupoi), I feel like we’re the best in the nation," Finney also told Buonantony.

Oregon's Defense Shines

Finney intercepted Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton two times on Thursday, and he also recovered a fumble forced by Oregon linebacker Bryce Boettcher. Shutting out the Red Raiders, the Ducks defense as a whole responded to the first-round performance against James Madison.

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The Dukes scored 31 points in Autzen Stadium, totaling 509 yards and converting all four fourth-down conversion attempts. On the positive side, Oregon held James Madison to 9-of-22 on third down, and the Ducks felt in control throughout the game. Still, the Oregon defense seemingly came out with something to prove against Texas Tech.

Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi has already been hired as the next head coach of the California Golden Bears, but the Ducks' performance on Thursday did not give any indication that Lupoi is struggling to balance both jobs.

What Brandon Finney Said About His Second Interception

Finney also spoke in the postgame press conference, and he was asked about any potential preparation or film-study that might have helped him on his second interception.

"Well, I feel like our defense is the best at preparing in the nation, so what Coach Tosh Lupoi and what Coach Lanning do just throughout the week, just preparing us as players, getting ready for the game plan, just helps us as players to just be ready and execute. That's our job," said Finney.

Lanning also talked about the play:

"It's a strategic play. He did it exactly like we asked him to do," Lanning said. "We tell him to play low to high down in the red area. He did exactly that. He played low until the player was able to show up and take away the low and then he creeped to high, and he made an outstanding play. I was just as impressed with the fact took a knee after he caught it."