Oregon's Devon Jackson Sends Clear Message After Surprising Upset Loss

Oregon linebacker Devon Jackson was one of the few highlights on a dark day for the No. 21 Oregon Ducks.

Oregon’s loss to Oklahoma State was the worst loss of in coach Dan Lanning's time in Eugene, and the only loss under Lanning to an opponent that entered the game unranked. It was sloppy in a lot of ways, but Jackson provided one of the few highlights for the Ducks when he intercepted Cowboys quarterback Drew Mestemaker and showed off his insane speed as he returned it for a touchdown.

Oregon football Devon Jackson Dan Lanning Oklahoma State loss Portland State Big Ten USC Ducks linebacker — Oregon inside linebacker Devon Jackson scores off a pick-six as the Oregon Ducks face the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Sept. 12, 2026, at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

But Jackson is also one of the leaders on this Oregon team, and despite a solid individual performance, it falls on him and the rest of the Ducks’ leaders to help get this team back on track.

On Tuesday, ahead of Oregon’s final nonconference matchup against Portland State, Jackson revealed the Ducks held a players-only meeting when they got back to Eugene to figure out how they were going to put themselves back in position to reach their goals.

“Things will be different from here on out,” Jackson said.

Talk is cheap, though, and the Ducks will need to prove that things will, in fact, be different.

Luckily for Oregon, it has one more opportunity to work out its mistakes and clean things up before Big Ten play begins. The Ducks will host Portland State on Saturday before opening conference play against a USC team that has looked every bit like a College Football Playoff contender early in the season.

Everything Devon Jackson Said on Tuesday

"Wasn't good enough. Plain and simple, it wasn't good enough starting with me. I was one of the guys in the middle. I was one of the older guys. We haven't done a good enough job of establish what the standard has been clearly, and we gotta go back to the basics, back to work, reestablish ourselves, not worry about what anybody else has to say about us, but we gotta determine who we want to be. I know who we want to be, but we gotta show that. We gotta prove that starting with practice. Simple as that."

Addressing Dan Lanning's comments on leadership:

"No, that's not good to hear. Hurts a little bit, but again, we gotta go back to the basics. Start with everybody. Starting with everybody that's a senior on this team, anybody that can make an impact on this team, starts with us as players, who we want to be as the 2026 Oregon Ducks. We done all had conversations and reevaluations of who we want to be, but it starts with us, and that we got to really show who we want to be."

Holding a players-only meeting to regroup:

"We met. I'm not going to get into details of what we talked about and when we met, but we met and we talked about and we had those conversations, and things will definitely be different from here on out."

Fixing defensive mistakes before USC:

"It's very attainable. They're easy fix. It wasn't anything they did crazy. It's all things that we did wrong and gave them the win, so it starts with us and everything that we did wrong is very fixable. Whether it's penalties or just doing your assignment, those are all very fixable things. And we not as far off as people may think, but again, what other people think about us doesn't affect us. We got to go back to the basics and focus on those and fix the things that we can fix."

Handling assignment breakdowns as a unit:

"Everybody has mental mess ups. I did as well, but again, those are all very fixable things, and it's not just well, one person did this, did this. We all in this together, right? This is the Oregon Ducks. We all in this as a family together. So, we all have mess ups, but again, we gonna fix those things and we gonna reintroduce ourselves."

Prioritizing team goals over individual motives:

"Again, we all had our conversations, and again, I'm not going to get into details of what those conversations looked like. But we had those conversations, and again, back to the basics, back why did a lot of people come back? Why did a lot of people stay? Why did a lot of people, whatever?"

"So remember our why as a team, and individually doesn't matter. I don't even speak personally. I don't even got no individual goals. To be honest with you, everything I want to do this year is for the team. I've been here long enough. I've been close. I've been a game away. I done been a couple teams away. We the same team that's been every single year one team away. Starting with Washington, Ohio State, and we just we the same team. All you gotta do is go back to the basics, and we will be fine. We will be fine."

Preparing on a short week alongside Brandon Finney Jr.:

"Exciting opportunity. Put the bed of what we put out last, and okay, we watched it, we evaluated it, we corrected it. All right, cool. We on to the next opponent. Coaches have been up here super late trying to get us as much information as we can, and us players is dialed in on the details and even being together, different position groups, me and Brandon Finney Jr. go back and forth and takes about the details or whatever, all the time, just holding on together, and so we can prepare for Friday."

Clocking 22.9 mph on a touchdown-saving chase:

"It was a cool moment. But I don't really look into it that much. We ultimately didn't get the result we wanted. So it was a cool moment, though. But wasn't 24, so."

Responding to the coaching staff's intensity in practice:

"Man, they bringing the juice as everyone in the building. That's not a good feeling to have. We put bad tape out, and they're correcting it. They're correcting us. They're coaching us as hard as they can. And if we see a mistake, we fixing it on the spot. That may practice a minute or two longer, but it needs to be done. No more mistakes, no more errors, no more slip bys are allowed to happen."

Describing the urgency and temperature inside the building:

"I say it's like a fire on your seat, but I look at as it's a good thing. Okay, this is the bad, but now it's up from here. It's literally up from here. We know what the time we have on this team. We know what kind of players we have on this team, and individuals we have on this team. And as a program, we're gonna be better."

Appreciating punter flips in field position:

"Man, it helps a lot. It helps a lot, but that's part of everybody doing their 111 for the team, and we all in this together for sure."

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