Oregon Ducks' Dan Lanning Addresses Quarterback Austin Novosad Injury

EUGENE - The No. 4 Oregon Ducks’ national standing continues to rise after a dominant first two weeks to start the season.

The Ducks’ offense has looked sharp under the command of redshirt sophomore quarterback Dante Moore. Meanwhile, the defense is a well-oiled machine full of veteran starters.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning spoke to the media about the development of several young stars and provided an update on quarterback Austin Novosad ahead of the program’s first road game of 2025 against the Northwestern Wildcats.

What Lanning Said

Opening Statement:

“A good recap from the from the game this past weekend. A lot of positives on really all three phases of our team, but they performed really well after evaluating the film. Certainly, some opportunities to grow, but good opportunity to get ready for this next opponent, right?”

“Traveling road game, little bit different setting, environment, you know, place that people won't get to be playing football games very often for much longer. When they get their stadium done, and Northwestern does a good job, They're well coached. You see a team that presents some issues, that will be a fun challenge for us, but ultimately excited to get to go travel and see how our team performs, not at a home venue with our awesome crowd.”

Update On Quarterback Austin Novosad:

“More precautionary, probably than anything. I think Austin goes, but his lat, it's been bothering a little bit. He's been able to practice, but we're just trying to limit him and get him in position where he can go again.”

What’s Allowed Linebacker Jerry Mixon To Be A Guy He Calls Upon:

dan lanning oregon ducks northwestern wildcats oklahoma state cowboys dante moore quarterback running backs wide receiver — Oregon inside linebacker Jerry Mixon runs the ball for a touchdown after an interception as the Oregon Ducks host the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Sept. 6, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“I think Jerry, the minute he stepped on campus, he's been a ball production guy. He's a guy that's around the ball, and you're always trying to find ways to get guys like that on the field. And we've seen him make that play over and over again in practice, like, very similar to what he did on Saturday,” Lanning said.

“What he's grown at is his ability to communicate with people around him and get other people lined up, his ability to execute the defense at a really high level, high tick. And he's a great teammate. I asked Austin Novosad said the other day, it's like, tell me who our best teammate is on defense. And he said, Jerry, right,” Lanning said.

“And what's great is you could go ask 15 different guys that question and you might get 15 different answers, because that's the quality of men that we have on our team right now. But Jerry's grown a lot. He's doing really good. I expect him to get a lot better.”

What’s Impressed Him About Running Back Jayden Limar:

“We talked about strength of numbers, actually gave an award to Jayden earlier today talking about like this is, to me, the embodiment of what our team is. I think he played 15 snaps on special teams, 24 snaps on offense. One of his best plays of the day was a block that he had on an inside run play. You know, we’re running down on kickoff, dynamic piece of our PBR team and our KOR unit, like, he's done a lot of things right,” Lanning said.

“Every year, once his role and his opportunity continue to grow, and I said, just keep working it come, and this year has come, he's a player that we know what to expect from him when he steps on the field. He does his job, he does his assignment, he works extremely hard. He expects a lot of his teammates,” Lanning continued.

“Did some self-reflection after this last game, was really honest with himself. So, I continue to see like opportunities for him to keep growing and keep getting better, but he's done a really good job.”

If He's Planning On Traveling All Seven Running Backs:

“Yeah, I am.”

On Punting And Ross James:

“I was just worried that if we didn't punt, we'd probably lose a punter in the portal, so I wanted to make sure we got an opportunity. No, he's done a good job. And Ross had an unbelievable fall camp, like, did a really good job. We had good competition. Ultimately, from both those guys, I think they both made each other better. But he's done a good job. He's earned that spot. And I think he went and executed there to be able to put it inside the 10 and have good kicks to help us out.”

On The Pre-Snap Penalties:

“We'll get it fixed. I mean, it was clear what, what we can coach better and what we can execute better, but we'll get that fixed.”

How Unselfishness Will Help Them Later In The Season:

“It's important every game. I think we had 81 different players playing this last game. I don't remember what I said after the game, but we just after going back and evaluated 81 players playing this game, I think we had 31 players have a tackle. I think 19 different players touch the ball,” Lanning said.

“I don't know. I mean, there was a lot of people that can contribute. And I've said it from the beginning season, that strength in numbers is going to be a great quality for us, and at some point, one of those 19 guys that touched the ball might not be available. So those other 18 are going to have great experience and be ready for it,” Lanning continued.

“It doesn't allow you to hone in on one person to stop us offensively. It doesn't allow you to hone in on one person on defense to stop us defensively. So, I think that's really important when you have, I've always said, if we have enough above the line players will play several above the line players, and we have that right now.”

On Development:

“I think we have a young group that's a really mature group. And there's a lot of guys you walk in that locker room, you walk into a meeting room, in the training room, you see them preparing like vets, even though they might be freshmen. And I think the ones that aren't are looking at the ones that are and saying, oh, wow, I could play if I prepared like that. And there's, there's a lot of opportunities that are being created,” Lanning said.

“But that also goes back to the leadership that we do have on our team, of veterans, of those guys, be able to see what it looks like, how they have to prepare, and then good evaluation, good development of those guys put in a position to be able to go play. So, credit to our coaches and our players.”

How He Makes Sure They Don’t Overlook Northwestern:

“Again, we're focused on us. Don't pay attention to the outside noise, right? It wasn't around the summer. It shows up now. It doesn't mean anything now.”

What He’s Seen From Quarterback Luke Moga:

“Some really good. Some things that he can continue to improve, right? I think we all know that Luke has some special strengths. You see him take off on the scramble. Almost looks like a draw play, the way he was able to hit that so fast and execute it really well,,” Lanning said.

“Going to continue to clean up, going some decision making. Got to be able to make that slant pass there, like that's when you want to see him complete. But Luke has the one-two, has the intangibles, has the athleticism that allows us to play, you know, the brand of football we want to be able to be able to play.”

How The Kickoff Time Impacts Practice:

“We're a morning practice team, so not a lot. That's what I told the guys this morning when we were about to go out to practice this stuff. At the same time, we'll be playing fellas. So, our bodies are used to it, right? It's something that we can do this little bit different, and we're looking forward to that opportunity.”

Last Time He Coached In A Smaller Stadium:

“I mean, again, it doesn't affect the size. I think the field's still gonna be the same size, right? Also, that's what you focus on, right? It's definitely a different environment, but I've coached in some of those,” Lanning said.

“I've coached high school football, I've coached FCS football, I played NAIA football, right? So, I've been in some of those environments. And if you love football, you want to play your best regardless of what the crowd looks like or what the setting is. So, it'll be a fun experience for our players. They don't get to do that very often.”

What The Rotation Was Supposed To Be On The Field Goal That Came Off A Broken Play:

“Poor coaching on our part, right? It's a play we should have been prepared for. We pulled up too. We were blitzing, and a guy stopped blitzing. That's never gonna be good when you're sending that many people when you pull up. But again, we'll get it cleaned up.”

On Dante Moore’s Pass To Dakorien Moore With The Blitz Coming:

“I wish he would have just redirected the protection to start with, right? But unbelievable block by Noah (Whittington), right? And really great play by Dante. But that's again, another moment that we find, okay, let's walk away from it.”

“Everybody sees that play, and they see an unbelievable play by Dante, unbelievable play by the offensive line, unbelievable play by Dakorien (Moore) and Noah. And there's a lot of people that were part of that play, and we see that play, and we say, man, I wish we could have redirected our protection here, right? It would have made it even easier to execute,” Lanning went on.

“But they did a great job of executing. That's a great example of, you can't always replicate everything you're going to see in a game, you know, in practice, a little bit different look than we had seen, and when it hit we did a good job of executing because, you know, it's a little bit different on game day.”

PREVIEW:

Ducks Hard To Scout

Oregon has showcased its depth throughout the first two games of the season. Almost all of the Ducks’ running backs have played and contributed, while the wide receiver and defensive back positions also have started some young talents.

“It's hard to prepare for when you know that multiple guys can have success, multiple guys can score,” Lanning said after the win over Oklahoma State. “Again, the part that always makes me excited to see how the people on the sideline that weren't scoring, or the people that were in the game not scoring are the guys celebrating the hardest, right?”

“We want to celebrate good football. It's about the team,” Lanning continued. “I preach to our guys all week that our team is the secret sauce, the way that we're connected. And I think that showed up in this game.”

Notably, the running back room has been unpredictable with seven different players earning time in the backfield and four different running backs scoring touchdowns.

Lanning’s quarterbacks have plenty of different targets to throw the ball to as well, with four players recording receiving touchdowns.

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First Road Start

Moore has been among the nation’s best quarterbacks to start the season. He threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns on 16-for-21 completion in three quarters against the Cowboys.

The Ducks’ quarterback is set to make his first start on the road at Northwestern on Saturday. His starting role is off to a flying beginning, also becoming the first Oregon quarterback since 2016 to throw three or more touchdowns in his starting debut for the program.

Moore has also showed off his ability to make deep plays down the field with three separate 40-plus yard touchdown passes through the first two weeks.

"Some of those we probably tabled because of the situation in the game last week,” Lanning said about his quarterback’s bombs against Oklahoma State. “We want to be a team that can beat you by air and by land. That showed up today. We have some real deep threats. We have good protection."

A matchup with the Wildcats will give Moore the opportunity to play outside of Autzen Stadium for the first time this season. Back when he was a true freshman for the UCLA Bruins in 2023, Moore became the first Bruin since 2012 to earn his first start at quarterback on the road and win the game.

In week 3, Moore will look to not only lead Oregon to victory on the road but also take down its first Big Ten opponent of the season.