Dan Lanning fired up for 'fun' challenge against UCLA

Dan Lanning will face his toughest conference test so far as No. 10 Oregon prepares to host No. 9 UCLA in Eugene this weekend. The winner between the last remaining undefeated squads in the conference would earn an inside track for the Pac-12’s regular-season crown. That’s not all that Lanning is focused on, though, with all the excitement building on campus for the Top-10 showdown.

Lanning spoke about his excitement during his press conference on Monday. While it’s a big opportunity for Oregon, he’s happier about the opportunity that it will give Duck fans on Saturday.

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“(This is) about to be a fun one. Really exciting. Obviously this is gonna be a great atmosphere for our players but also our fans. I know me, including everybody else in our organization, is really excited to see our fans come out in full support,” said Lanning. “Definitely excited to see our fans show up early and stay throughout the entire game, stay late, and enjoy the entire event of Saturday, and go play this game.”

Since their opening loss to Georgia, Lanning has had Oregon right on track with a 5-0 stretch where they’ve beaten teams by an average of 25 points per game. That includes a 3-0 Pac-12 start over Washington State, Stanford, and Arizona.

However, UCLA is a new level of test as one of the season’s last undefeated teams. With the Bruins coming off back-to-back ranked wins over Washington and Utah, Lanning will have to temper the excitement of his players to a degree. Their play has earned them this moment. With that said, none of it will matter if they let it get in the way of doing what they need to on the field.

“Obviously having College GameDay here is gonna be a great event. Getting the opportunity to go against a Top-10 team and a really worthy opponent is gonna be a fun challenge for us and our players,” Lanning said. “(I) talked to our guys really early on today that all this is here because of the work they’ve done. That’s why this is sitting in front of them. But, really, all this outside (noise) has nothing to do with what has to be done on the field. I think our guys realize that and are excited about the opportunity.”

UCLA at Oregon has developed over the season to become one of the Pac-12’s biggest contests. The winner will control their destiny to become one of the teams that play for the conference title in Las Vegas on December 2nd. It would also give the victor the outside chance to represent the Pac-12 in the CFP. As two of the final contenders out west, both teams know how big this opportunity on their schedule is. For Lanning, it’s now about getting his team and fanbase buckled up for it.