Dan Lanning gives philosophy on staying positive amid frustrating loss

No. 11 Oregon’s loss to No. 3 Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff was arguably the biggest letdown of college football’s opening weekend. The Ducks were drubbed 49-3 by the Bulldogs in what was nearly a matchup of Top-10 teams. It was not the debut Dan Lanning was hoping for in Eugene but, even after the blowout, he was more positive than anticipated.

During his press conference on Monday, the media asked Lanning about his upbeat nature after the loss in Atlanta. He said there was not a single person more unsatisfied by the loss. However, he realized lashing out about it to his locker room or the media would do him little good.

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“I mean nobody’s more frustrated than me, but I’m also more focused on the outcome,” said Lanning. “If I thought me acting angry and upset and frustrated was going to be a benefit to our team, then that’s the approach I would take. I just don’t think that’s a beneficial approach in that situation.”

There may not have been a single positive to take away for the Ducks from the 46-point beatdown. The Ducks didn’t find the end zone once as Bo Nix threw two picks. No skill player finished with more than 37 yards of offense either. Meanwhile, Georgia torched Oregon’s defense with seven touchdowns as both Bulldog QBs finished with a QBR that was higher than 95.

In the end, Dan Lanning says all he can do is go back to the drawing board. They may have lost, but it was to a great team and there’s still plenty of season left. It’s now about putting on the best face so that he and his team stay connected with one another.

“It starts with me. Nobody is more frustrated than I am and I certainly wasn’t upbeat. That being said, we played a good team, they played really well, and we didn’t,” said Lanning. “There’s a lot to fix. My approach is always gonna be on how I think I can get the best result from our players. What do they need from me? As much as what do I need from them?”

Oregon needs to make a statement next weekend against Eastern Washington. They need to prove the loss said more about Georgia’s dominance than it said about the Duck’s not being able to compete. With this approach, Lanning should have his team more than ready to prove their point when they hit the field again Saturday night.