Dan Lanning reveals message to team after loss

Oregon coach Dan Lanning had a powerful message for his team following their heartbreaking 37-34 loss to Washington on Saturday. With their national championship hopes now gone, Lanning wanted the Ducks to keep their heads up, know that they still accomplished a lot and realize that there are two more weeks to go.

Most importantly, he wanted them to know this result doesn’t change the way he feels about the group.

“The message was, ‘I love this team,'” he said. “We didn’t really finish this game the way we want, but we’ve been a connected team all year and that doesn’t change because of this result. My love is not based on the result of this game. I love that locker room, I’m proud of that locker room. We didn’t play the way we wanted to play, and that really falls on me.”

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After suffering a 46-point loss at the hands of Georgia in Week 1, Oregon went on an eight-game winning streak to put itself back in the College Football Playoff conversation. However, the loss to the Huskies will likely drop the Ducks further in the committee’s top 25, where they came in at No. 6 last week.

Oregon led by a touchdown with just under four minutes to play Saturday after Camden Lewis kicked a 26-yard field goal to make it 34-27. However, Washington answered just three plays later as Michael Penix Jr. connected with Taj Davis on a 62-yard touchdown to tie the game. The Ducks then turned it over on downs the next drive, setting up Washington to kick the game-winning 43-yard field goal on its next drive.

But even with the loss, Lanning has still put together a solid season in his first year as a college head coach, and there’s potential to make it even better. Saturday’s loss was the first conference game that Oregon has dropped this year, and it could still clinch a spot in the Pac-12 Championship game with a win against Utah next week.

Dan Lanning will hope his message to his team sinks in before the Ducks kick off against the Utes at 7:30 p.m. PT on Saturday at home.