Dan Lanning embracing environment at Washington: 'Hostile can be fun'
On Saturday, head coach Dan Lanning will lead the Oregon Ducks to Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies. There, they’ll meet in one of college football’s most iconic stadiums, Husky Stadium. For the Ducks, however, it will be one of the most hostile environments that they play in all season long.
Ahead of that game, Lanning spoke about embracing that challenging environment. He explained that hostile environments are often fun, as long as Oregon is going to be able to limit distractions.
“Hostile can be fun,” Dan Lanning said. “I think this one will be one of those environments. There’s gonna be a lot of distractions, a lot of pieces going on outside the puzzle, but we’re really focused on being the eye of the storm, the calm within the storm. I think our guys will handle that well.”
Oregon is looking to avenge the loss to Washington last season at home. That game was a 37-34 thriller. However, an injury to Ducks quarterback Bo Nix played a big part in that game, limiting his ability to run with the football. Nix and Oregon are going to be looking to return the favor this season.
Still, this is a game that Washington is going to be more than ready for. That’s only exacerbated by it being a rivalry game that has Huskies head coach Kalen DeBoer ready to go.
“Oh, yeah,” DeBoer said. “I mean, ‘hated,’ I think, amongst the fans for a week. But it’s healthy. In my mind, that’s what college football’s all about.”
Oregon and Washington are set to kick off at 3:30 P.M. EST on Saturday. The winner will likely see a boost in their ranking as they get the inside slot in the race to make the Pac-12 Championship Game and potentially the College Football Playoff.
Dan Lanning says Oregon knows what this game means
Going into this game, Dan Lanning doesn’t think it’s necessary to find extra ways to motivate his Oregon Ducks team. After all, everyone knows what’s on the line in this rivalry.
“I don’t think it’s necessary,” Lanning said. “Every one of our players knows exactly what this game means to them, personally, in that room and then also to everybody that’s a Duck fan. They want to win. When they step on the field, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing, they want to go out there and compete at a high level.”