Why Oregon added a portal QB and U-M didn’t — Ducks coach Dan Lanning on that, more
Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his team put on a show at Michigan Stadium Saturday in a 38-17 win. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel, an Oklahoma transfer, was the star, throwing for 294 yards and running for a long touchdown, keeping other plays alive.
U-M’s Davis Warren played relatively well, but Gabriel was a difference maker. That prompted the question from one reporter after the game to Lanning — why was he comfortable adding a portal quarterback while Michigan stood pat?
“I think the key in college football right now is that you have to put yourself in position to be the best team that you can possibly be,” Lanning said. “And for us, it’s about development, regardless if you came in as a freshman or if you’re coming in as a transfer. Can we develop those players and get them to play with their best?
“Dillon is a great example of guys coming in … improve, get better, week in and week out continue to get better and earn the trust of his teammates.”
It helps, too, to have a great surrounding cast and a game plan that schemes around other teams’ strengths and weaknesses. Gabriel’s touchdown run up the gut, for example, was a planned play, Lanning noted, spreading the field and taking advantage of the quarterback’s athleticism.
The Michigan defensive line did a solid job applying pressure Saturday, but for the most part, Gabriel was either able to escape and make a play or they got the ball out quickly to keep them at bay.
“They are obviously really talented players,” Lanning said of the Michigan front. “We were conscious of that. I thought the offensive staff did an unbelievable job of having a game plan for those guys, taking advantage about getting the ball out to the perimeter early, making them work sideline to sideline … always cognizant of where they were at, trying to take them out of the game.
“[But] at the end of the day, when your best is needed and a hard yard was needed, we were going to run it at them. Our guys did a great job of that.”
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Warren, meanwhile, made some nice throws, and he didn’t force it when there was nowhere to go with the ball. They took the ball out of his hands on a late fourth down play, however, trying a throwback pass from receiver Semaj Morgan to Alex Orji that didn’t work.
The timing was questionable, and Oregon was prepared.
“Ultimately, they’ve had a lot of success on trick plays, whether it was flea flickers, reverse passes,” Lanning said. “They hit one earlier in the game. So, we were aware that there were going to be people leaking out, and we spent a lot of time on that.
“I think it’s an unbelievable play by [end] Matayo [Uiaagalelei] that’s going to go a little unsung. But to be able to one, his responsibility — we talk about farming your own land. Don’t farm someone else’s land. Do your job. He did a great job of farming his land on that play and owning his responsibility.”
That kept it a two-score game and pretty much wrapped up the win for the Ducks. They covered the spread and left happy … and undefeated … after another win in the Big House.
“It gets loud on third downs. It’s a special place,” Lanning said. “There is obviously a lot of history here.
“But what we said all week, the warriors control the atmosphere and not the spectators. I thought our guys did a great job handling that.”
