Dan Lanning says smoke forced Oregon to practice indoors

The Oregon Ducks are fast at work preparing for their big-time matchup against the UCLA Bruins at home on Saturday. Unfortunately, due to smoke in the area caused by wildfires, the Ducks have moved their practices indoors for the time being. But according to head coach Dan Lanning that comes with some positives for the defense. Recently Lanning explained those benefits and how the Ducks are preparing for a possible wet and wild game on Saturday.

“We practiced inside today because of smoke. But it was good,”said Lanning. “It allowed us to get a little bit better crowd noise for some of our defensive stuff. When our stadium is as crazy as it can be, it’s hard to communicate on that side of the ball when you’re out there. So, creating that environment right now for our players is really important.

“Yeah, we prepped for that. We’re prepared for that. We’ll see how it plays out. We don’t control weather, but we’re prepared for it — wet ball drills. You’re gonna spray the ball with water a lot. I mean, that’s one of the biggest things. Obviously, you can’t plan for it.”

Oregon’s showdown with UCLA on Saturday comes with major conference championship implications. Currently, the Ducks and the Bruins are the only two teams left in the Pac-12 without a loss in conference play. Both teams sit at 3-0 at the top of their respective sides of the conference. Oregon and UCLA have the possibility of running into each other down the road in the championship game, but for now, the Ducks, regardless of the weather and everything else, must make sure to handle their business at home against the Bruins; keeping their Pac-12 and national championship hopes alive.

Lanning says Oregon players are ‘dialed in’ for UCLA game

Oregon is 1-1 this season in topped ranked matchups, with that one loss in their season opener against the Georgia Bulldogs. That is also Oregon’s only loss on the season. So heading into Saturday’s game, what does Oregon’s head coach Dan Lanning believe his team will use from their one loss? Nothing.

“Yeah, again, play the game not the moment. And I think our guys are more dialed in. Really not concerned about all the other pieces,” said Lanning when asked about the team’s preparation for UCLA.

Lanning is attempting to channel the same head coaching energy from his time under Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. And he’s been doing an excellent job of that so far. For Lanning, his Oregon squad must focus on executing their game plan regardless of who is on the other side of the field. There is no such thing as playing up or down to your opponent. There is going out there, executing the game plan and beating their opponent. Just like the Ducks have done to every opponent following their one loss.

Aside from Oregon’s stumble out of the gate, the Ducks have defeated a couple of quality opponents in BYU and Washington state. If Oregon wants to add UCLA to that list, then they will likely have to follow their head coach’s direction and not worry about the outside noise. And make sure that they are dialed in as they have been since their lone loss of the season.