Key Quotes From Dan Lanning Following Oregon's 34-13 Win Over UCLA

No. 8 Oregon (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) hit the road and took home a 34-13 win over the UCLA Bruins (1-3, 0-2 Big Ten) Saturday night at the Rose Bowl. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel scored three touchdowns and the Ducks defense suffocated the Bruins offense all night.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning met with reporters after the win to give his thoughts on the game.

Opening statement: “Complete game in a lot of ways. Still some things for us for areas of growth. Obviously the turnover at the end of the half was not a good look, but outside of that I thought our team played really well, big difference in third downs between our team and their team, total yardage and a lot of categories. We won in a lot of ways. Really proud of the guys’ performance, but excited about our growth. It’s gonna be a quick turnaround here for this next week, so we gotta be able to put this one to bed quick and move on fast.”

On defense in general, holding UCLA to six points

Lanning: “I thought after the first series we kind of figured out the rhythm and kind of figured out what they were gonna be doing and guys did a good job attacking them. Obviously being able to control the run game early in that first half was really really big. They had some more successful runs in the second half. Think they came out saying they had to establish it and we were probably playing a little bit more don’t give up a freebie. So I thought the defense played their best game yet.”

On update regarding tight end Terrance Ferguson, who exited the game with an injury

Lanning: “I think Terrance is gonna be good. Just precautionary from our standpoint. But he’s doing well.”

On offense in second half after dominant first half

Lanning: “A couple of those we punch ourselves in the foot. Also started with a really long field at the beginning of one of those, starting backed up. But ultimately I thought the offense had some really shining moments and we just gotta be able to handle coming out of half and starting fast.”

On Dillon Gabriel’s performance

Lanning: “I think Dillon had a really positive performance excluding one play. I think he’s continued to prove to be a really savvy quarterback. I thought one of the things I was impressed with Dillon tonight is the way he utilized his feet when the first answer wasn’t there. Did a really good job of that and moving onto the next look.”

On Tez Johnson’s game

Lanning: “Obviously need to go watch the film but thought there were some real positives from his game.”

On Jeffrey Bassa’s performance

Lanning: “I think this is the first week that Jeff’s really felt healthy. Had a great week of practice and because of that I think his performance really showed up. It’s hard to be able to go out there and play on game day when you’re not able to practice. He was able to practice this week, bye week was really big, but certainly a leader for us. Dynamic (in) understanding what opponents are trying to do and did a good job of that tonight.”

On what he’s seen from Jordan Burch through four games, vs. UCLA

Lanning: “I think he’s playing like a big-time player. Again, I gotta go watch the film, but he’s a hard person to block and I think he’s proven that.”

On his perspective of Bryan Addison’s hit on Terrance Ferguson

Lanning: “Yeah I’ll have to watch it on film. It certainly looked like it had some of the traits of targeting in my mind. It looked like there was a launch, but I didn’t get to see the hit on the copy afterwards.”

On offensive line performance vs. UCLA

Lanning: “Yeah I think any time you can protect the quarterback and run the ball effectively that’s usually a good night.”

On Devon Jackson’s progression in 2024

Lanning: “Devon’s probably the most improved player in my time here at Oregon. He’s just continued to get better and better every single week, plays with a passion and energy, he works extremely hard in practice and it’s starting to really show up for him in games.”