Key Quotes From Dan Lanning Following Oregon's 49-14 Blowout Win Over Oregon State
The Oregon Ducks finally got the win they were looking for with a 49-14 thumping of their rival Oregon State Beavers. After the game, coach Dan Lanning was available to media and discussed Dillon Gabriel‘s performance, Bryce Boettcher, defensive adjustments, and more.
Below are the best questions and quotes from Lanning’s post-game interview, as well as my thoughts at the end.
Opening Statement:
“I feel like we played to our standard today. And even then the defense was a tale of two halves.”
“A lot of it was winning first and second down. They were able to get some QB scrambles in the first half and we were kind of able to close that out in the second half.”
“I’m really proud of our guys’ performance and I think it shows what we’re capable of doing.”
On Gabriel‘s rushing performance:
“I think when guys are covered downfield that’s the threat of a guy like Dillon Gabriel. He’s able to be the kind of guy that takes what they give you.”
On defensive adjustments at halftime:
“We wanted to make sure we had a hat for the quarterback in the scramble game. Wanted to have a plan to manage the screen game that they’d been able to hurt us on.”
On Oregon State’s time of possession advantage in the first half:
“Really more than anything we talked about getting stops on third down. That meant winning first and second down defensively. If you want to talk about a big mark for our defense we didn’t see any explosive plays given up today.”
On Boettcher‘s performance:
“I love Bryce Boettcher. I wish we had a million Bryce Boettcher’s. What you guys see in the game is what I see in practice.”
On continuing the rivalry between Oregon and Oregon State:
“I’d love to keep the rivalry alive. I think it’s great for the state of Oregon and for both schools. That’s not something we want to see go away.”
On the message this performance sends to the public:
“We don’t care about the world. If you do your job, it takes care of itself. What I’m more proud of is that our guys figured out what we needed to improve on and that showed up this week.”
On running back Jayden Limar earning playing time:
“Jayden is one of the most trustworthy players we have on our field. If he has a job, he owns that assignment. He’s a guy who brings it every day and is really consistent.”
Linden’s take:
This was a little more like it. After struggling mightily against Idaho and Boise State, the Ducks turned it up a notch to flatten the Beavers.
I thought this was Gabriel’s best game so far by a pretty comfortable margin and it showed up on the stat sheet, completing 20/24 passes for 291 yards and two TDs to go with four carries for 64 yards and a score. He also wasn’t sacked in this game, the first time this season that’s happened.
Although not all of Oregon’s issues are all the way settled, this was a massive step in the right direction. The Ducks now get a bye week before traveling to UCLA on 9/28.
