Dan Lanning refuses to measure team by Georgia, praises program

The Dan Lanning era did not get off to the best start. Georgia, the team Lanning just won a national title with as defensive coordinator, obliterated Oregon 49-3 to open the season. Whew, that’s taking one on the chin right there. But for the new Ducks head coach, the important part if responding positively and not letting one game ruin a season.

At his weekly press conference, Lanning spoke at length about the fallout from such a lopsided loss. He was quick to point to Kirby Smart’s group as the standard in the sport.

“You know, now we know where we stand compared to the pinnacle of the sport,” Lanning said. “And now, we know what we need to aspire to get to over the course of the season and even beyond that. I don’t know if I’ll spend a lot of time really talking about them.”

Lanning remembered just last year, when he was on the Georgia staff, and discussed how important it was for them to respond positively after losing that SEC title game to Alabama.

“I mean, I will say this: I’ve been coaching for a while and I’ve been apart of losses that are disheartening. And to me, it’s all about the response, right. It’s all about: there’s an event; how do you respond to it? And that’s going to lead to your outcome. And I was a part of a situation last year where, SEC Championship game, I walked off the field and I think a lot of us were really disheartened, right. But how you respond? And the effect of that response is what really leads to success down the road.”

Lastly, Dan Lanning wrapped up his comments by further marveling at the Dawgs and reminding himself what Coach Smart told him about the start of his head coaching stint with Georgia.

“Georgia is a complete team. I’ll be impressed if there’s a lot of teams that are better than that team out there in college football. Right now, they’re certainly kicking on all cylinders. I know talking to Coach Smart after the game, he reminded me of his first season, when he was down 31-0 at halftime to ole miss at an away game, and that’s a part of it. But that’s certainly not our goal. Our goal is to get better this week. You can’t live in the past. But you’re also not pointing at other teams. You’re really looking at yourself and how you can improve.”

Onwards and most certainly upwards for the Oregon Ducks.