Dan Lanning gives thoughts on Michael Penix's drop in production since first meeting
The Pac-12 Championship Game will be the second time that head coach Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks try and stop Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix, with the first time having not gone as planned.
Penix is widely seen as a Heisman contender this season. However, his numbers have fallen off since then. Still, Lanning thinks he’s playing at an elite level.
“Still won every single game,” Dan Lanning said. “And maybe hasn’t had the stats that he had earlier in the season, but he’s obviously a really talented quarterback, a really good quarterback. So, you know, it’s late in the season. Everybody gets a little bit banged up. I don’t know, but to me, he’s still playing really elite football.”
Dan Lanning still sees an elite quarterback on a team that keeps winning. However, there definitely has been a drop-off in Michael Penix’s play.
In Washington’s first six wins, including the Oregon game, Penix threw for 2,301 yards and 20 touchdowns to only three interceptions. Since then, Penix has thrown for 1,598 yards and 12 touchdowns to five interceptions.
There are a lot of factors that could go into decline. Lanning mentioned that players are dealing with injuries at this point in the season, which is undeniably true. There’s also more film available on Penix and the Washington offense while the weather has gotten worse to pass the ball in for a deep passing attack.
Despite getting the win over Oregon in the regular season, Washington is going into the Pac-12 Championship as the underdog. The Ducks are a 9.5-point favorite over the Huskies on a neutral field in Las Vegas this Friday.
A lot is on the line, with a likely trip to the College Football Playoff likely coming for the winning team in this game.
Dan Lanning responds to Jayden Daniels Heisman campaigning with case for Bo Nix
Oregon has its own Heisman contender in quarterback Bo Nix. This being the time of year when teams campaign for their key players to win the Heisman Trophy, there has been a big push from LSU to help Jayden Daniels earn votes for the Heisman. With that in mind, Dan Lanning made the case for Bo Nix.
“Well Bo’s obviously an elite player, and we’re still playing football and I think that speaks to the caliber of player that Bo is,” Lanning said.
“The fact that we’re competing for a championship, [Nix] leads the nation in passing, I don’t memorize all of Bo’s statistics, but just watch Bo play and watch how much of a difference he makes for us.”