Dan Lanning reveals keys to victory in Oregon vs. Ohio State

Two of the top teams in all of college football will face off Saturday night when Oregon hosts Ohio State in a Big Ten showdown. Ducks head coach Dan Lanning joined The Pat McAfee Show on Friday in Eugene to preview the matchup.

McAfee covered a variety of topics with Lanning, including what it will take to come out on top. According to Lanning, the biggest key is being able to control the lines of scrimmage.

“Yea, this is going to be a fun game. I think it’s going to be about the most physical team, right?” Dan Lanning said. “Who’s the most physical team? In the trenches it’s going to matter who can establish the run game.”

Outside of the offensive and defensive lines, Lanning also outlined a few other important aspects to Saturday’s game.

“You know, takeaways always matter in games like this,” Dan Lanning said. “Critical situations – fourth down, red area, those are going to be really big in this game.”

Oregon and Ohio State have faced off multiple times before, most recently in 2021 when the Ducks pulled off the upset in Columbus. However, this is the first time the two programs have played with both being in the Big Ten.

Dan Lanning is expecting a really tough, competitive game between two excellent football teams.

“We’re excited about the opportunity to go play this game against an elite team. They’re really talented. It’s going to be a lot of fun. But we have a really good team, too,” he said.

Lanning added that no matter what happens on Saturday, there is still a lot of football left to be played during the 2024 season. This is only the sixth game of the year for both Oregon and Ohio State.

“It’s the next game. There’s a lot of season left to play. Regardless of how this game turns out, there’s a lot of opportunity out there for both teams,” he said.

Lanning has had pregame speeches go viral before, most notably last season ahead of the Ducks’ game against Colorado. He is still putting the finishing touches on this one but has an idea of what he’s going to say to make sure his team is fired up.

“I don’t know exactly yet. I’ve got a direction. I’ve got an idea of where we’re going to go,” he said.