Dan Lanning Breaks Down Oregon vs Illinois
Oregon coach Dan Lanning addressed media Saturday following the Ducks’ runaway 38-9 win over the No. 20 Illinois Fighting Illini. Below are the most notable questions and quotes from Lanning’s interview as well as my thoughts at the end.
Opening Statement
“Fun game. Both sides of the ball started off fast today. Bit of a lull in the second half that hurt us but overall pleased with the team’s performance and looking for opportunities to get better.”
On intercepting quarterback Luke Altmeyer twice:
“Attacking the ball in the air. Their wideouts do a really good job of that and he’s been good at protecting the ball so we knew that was going to be hard but we were able to do it today.”
On the offensive line’s outing today:
“When you can protect the quarterback and prevent TFLs it allows you to stay on schedule. We identified things early and had answers for them.”
*Five takeaways from Oregon’s 38-9 win over Illinois*
On running back Noah Whittington‘s resurgence:
“I was really thrilled with his performance tonight. Had a huge catch last week and turned that into some positive runs today so extremely proud of him.”
On younger players stepping up on the defensive line:
“I think every guy takes it personally and those guys did a good job of that. We’ve been asking a bit more of them since Jordan (Burch) went down but they’ve answered.”
On quarterback Dillon Gabriel‘s performance reading the field:
“It’s important when that’s required. They played some zone that required progression reads but that’s what’s going to happen when you see more zone.”
On getting explosive plays and preventing them on defense:
“Ultimately it’s the biggest indicator of wins in college football outside of takeaways. We were able to keep them contained for the most part.”
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On adapting the passing game to fit Illinois’ defense:
“It was based on some of the looks they were giving us and the corners were required to be in run support but when they changed the look we were able to attack it.”
On rotating in multiple lines of players in the second half:
“If you’re on the field for us you’re a starter. We have the same expectations of all our guys in that when you’re in you have to execute.”
On Whittington’s goal line truck in the second quarter:
“Great feeling isn’t it? It’s awesome to see guys playing physically and when you have the opportunity to run through a man’s face that’s pretty sweet.”
Linden’s Take:
Save for some second-half sluggishness this could hardly have been a better performance for the Ducks. It was over early, essentially when Whittington bulldozed his way in the end zone.
Lanning didn’t have a lot to say in this one but there wasn’t a ton to pick apart. This Oregon team is surging at the right time of the season and remains one of the premier units in the country.
