Dan Lanning on Oregon-Oregon State rivalry: 'That's not something we want to see go away'
The campuses of Oregon and Oregon State are separated by fewer than 50 miles. But the gap between their football programs feels much more significant, and that distance is growing.
The Ducks, now part of the Big Ten, are the No. 9 team in the country with legitimate national title hopes. The Beavers, meanwhile, are currently one of two remaining teams in the Pac-12, they ushered in a new head coach this offseason and they ranked third-to-last in ESPN’s returning production rankings this year.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning was asked how he would describe the “talent gap” between the programs after the Ducks polished off a 49-14 win in Corvallis Saturday.
“I think we have more talent right now than they do,” Lanning said candidly. “That being said, I know how much that game means to them and how much it means to us.
“But I’m really focused on our team and what we have to do to continue to get better.”
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Lanning’s group turned in its most impressive performance of the season. After FCS Idaho and Boise State both gave Oregon fits, the Ducks coasted to victory against their in-state rival. They did so to the tune of 546 yards of offense.
Most notably, Oregon didn’t allow a single sack after giving up a combined seven sacks in the first two games of the year. Plus, after averaging 2.9 yards per carry against Idaho and 3.0 yards per carry versus Boise State, the Ducks exploded for 7.5 yards a tote in their runaway win this past weekend.
Running back Jordan James ran for 86 yards and a pair of scores, and quarterback Dillon Gabriel ripped off a 54-yard touchdown on the ground.
Oregon and Oregon State first started playing each other on the gridiron in 1894. They normally square off at the end of the regular season, but this time the game took place in September. Oregon leads the all-time series, 69-49-10, except Oregon State had won each of the previous two meetings in the Beavers’ Reser Stadium.
“I’d love to keep this rivalry alive,” Lanning said postgame. “Personally, I think it’s great for the state of Oregon. I think it’s great for both schools. That’s not something we want to see go away.”
Lanning appreciates the lore of the rivalry, however, he hasn’t necessarily adopted all of the Oregon-specific traditions surrounding the game, like a stop at the Long Branch Tavern in Monroe on the way back from a win in Corvallis. Former Ducks coach Rich Brooks started that tradition in 1978.
“I’ll be honest, on our drive up, I was thinking about that,” Lanning said. “Coach Brooks has told me about that in the past, about the opportunity to stop and have a cold frosty, right? I imagine somewhere tonight I’ll have one, but I’ll be watching film, and it probably won’t be there.”
Either way, Oregon found itself before Big Ten play, perhaps fittingly, with a brief “return” to Pac-12 competition in the latest chapter of a storied rivalry Lanning hopes continues.