Dan Lanning Breaks Down Oregon's 16-13 Win Over Wisconsin

The No. 1 Oregon Ducks defeated the Wisconsin badgers 16-13 in Madison on Saturday night in what was a back-and-forth contest and an intense battle for momentum. Oregon’s defense came up with some big stops, while the offense grinded out tough yards all night to move the ball.

Head coach Dan Lanning met with reporters following the win Saturday night to break down what he saw in Madison.

On message to team during “Jump Around“

Lanning: “We had a mindset going into that game what that song was going to mean for us, and what our reaction was going to be to it. Kind of like Pavlov’s dog. When you hear that song, it means it’s time to go. Didn’t know what it would look like in that moment, but that was what we were looking for from our team.”

On if that moment gave Oregon extra energy

Lanning: “There was a lot of moments stacked up in this game that were the difference? It’s always about the next play for us. For us it came down to every single play mattered tonight. So I don’t know if it was that moment, but I know I love that team that’s in that locker room right there. I know they fought their a** off tonight for a tough game against a Wisconsin team that came ready to play. They played some great D tonight. They stifled us. They held us back there. But for us to do just enough to win, I’m really pleased with the guys in that room.”

On if confidence to go for the fake field goal had to do with how the defense was playing

Lanning: “That and knowing it’d be a long field for them. We felt like the look was there. They had three to the side. I think he got tripped up, and we’re about a half yard short. You could certainly take the points there but then a touchdown still cost you, you’d still lose. Now obviously a field goal ties it, but we’ve been aggressive before. We were going to be aggressive in that moment.”

On what Matayo Uiagalelei has meant for Oregon, particularly in the absence of Jordan Burch

Lanning: “I think everybody’s taking notice of what kind of player Matayo is. The entire front put on. Did a great job tonight. And Matayo certainly has shown the ability to be a great player for us. He gets better and better every single week, and he’d be the guy to tell you that it’s about the people around him. It’s about the coverage that existed on that play to create that. It’s about the batted ball that was in the air that he took advantage of. So we didn’t have any takeaways in this game until that play. And that one certainly was a big one.”

On Dillon Gabriel’s key pass to Terrance Ferguson threading the ball between three defenders

Lanning: “We probably had a little good luck there. But we also had a play that—guy makes a great catch and certainly an impressive play by Dillon to keep it alive and find somebody down the field.”

On Oregon being only team to come back from a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter three times this season, what it says about the team

Lanning: “We can handle critical moments. We can handle when it’s tough. At some point that experience is going to pay off for us. It certainly paid off for us tonight. Going through some of that before. It paid off tonight.”

On Jordan James’ running ability, toughness he showed against Wisconsin

Lanning: “I’m proud of him. I think he broke 1,000 yards tonight. And again, we felt like coming out of half that we had to establish that run. He had some great runs tonight. And there were some big holes up there. There were some wide outs out there on the perimeter blocking the tail off. There was O-linemen pushing piles. But Jordan ran hard tonight.”

On what it says about the Ducks to lead the Big Ten, being ranked No. 1 after eight-game stretch

Lanning: “We’re a physical football team. And that’s what we’re gonna hang our hat on. That’s the part that’s gonna matter the most. At some point that’s gonna pay off. And it paid off tonight. It’s not always gonna be easy. I’ve been a part of unbelievable teams that always had games that were close in moments. At some point in the season you’re gonna have a tight game. This was a tight game tonight, but that physicality mattered. And our DNA traits showed up.”

On Jamaree Caldwell’s play on Uiagalelei’s interception, his health

Lanning: “Yeah, he’s doing good. In fact, he was laying down, he didn’t realize we had an interception, so I told him that. I think that fired him up. Obviously that was such a huge play by him, but I think he’s doing good. Batted balls matter, right? Mattered in that moment. It was a really big play by him.”

On level of relief going into bye week

Lanning: “We play the schedule the way they give it to us. So they gave us a schedule. We get a bye now. We haven’t had one in the one in a long time, so we’ll take advantage of that opportunity to take steps forward. There’s definitely some growth moments coming from this game that we can build off of and capitalize and hopefully propel us into the last bit of the season.”

On what this game says about the defense

Lanning: “I think that, at some point, we talked about it at the beginning of season in fall camp, that you’re going to have to put the team on your back and go win in critical moments. At some point, that’s going to be offense. At some points that’s going to be defense. Tonight was defense, and big-time play by them to be able to put us in that situation. But that’s what you want. You want the pressure in those moments”

On play of Kawika Rogers

Lanning: “Both those guys (Rogers and Dave Iuli) have earned the opportunity in practice to get those opportunities.”

On how the Oregon defense responded to holding Wisconsin to four rushing yards in the fourth quarer

Lanning: ” I think we decided—how do you want to die? Do you want to die slow death? Or do you want to be able to say that you’re going to go out there and be aggressive in those moments and make sure you have loaded boxes when they’re having success running. So I think that’s the decision we made and it paid off.”

On how his team responded to new Big Ten road environments

Lanning: “I think they handled it really well. For our team, I don’t think they care where you put the ball, where the field’s at. It doesn’t matter where it’s at in the US. To travel multiple times long distances to get an opportunity to play quality teams like we’ve been able to play this year, that’s a fun challenge that our guys embrace. I think they’ve done a good job of that.”