Dan Lanning says running the ball is key to success in second half

The Oregon Ducks are in another tightly contested matchup as they take on the Washington State Cougars at home. At halftime, Oregon leads Washington State 17-13 in a contest in which both offenses have enjoyed success against the opposing defenses.

At halftime, ESPN field reporter Molly McGrath caught up with the Ducks head coach Dan Lanning as he and his team headed into the locker room, where Lanning provided some insight into Oregon’s offensive success and how they plan to limit Washington State’s quarterback Cameron Ward in the second half.

“Yeah, he’s a good player. We gotta hold up outside. Probably gonna provide a little bit of relief for those guys outside. We’ve gotta do a good job of finishing on him when he takes off,” said Lanning.

As far as Oregon’s success on offenses goes, Lanning credited their ability to run the ball in the first half. The Ducks headman believes that will be essential to them coming out of this contest with the victory.

“I think we found some things there in the first half. We gotta be able to run the ball in the second half for us to have success in this game.”

Oregon has dominated on the ground with 154 rushing yards to Washington State’s 28. Running backs Bucky Irving and Jordan James are on pace to bold rush for over 100 yards in this game. That will go a long way toward Oregon surviving an upset at the hands of Washington State.

On the other hand, the Ducks’ defense needs to find a way to corral Ward. The Washington State quarterback is having an impressive bounce-back game after an abysmal showing against Arizona in Week 7. So far, Ward has completed 18 of his 26 pass attempts for 247 yards. He also has 17 of the Cougars 29 rush yards in the first half.

As Lanning said just before kickoff, it will be no easy task for his defense to slow down Ward. But it is a must if they are to pick up the win and keep pace in the tightly contested Pac-12 title race.