Even with the Oregon Duck’s 3-0 start Dan Lanning left the field with “Sour taste” in his mouth and knows his team has not played up to their standard
The Oregon Ducks have handled business so far this season but Dan Lanning isn’t satisfied.
The Oregon Ducks are 3–0, but Dan Lanning isn’t exactly celebrating. After the Ducks closed out a hard-fought win over Northwestern, the head coach admitted he wasn’t thrilled with how his team finished.
“I’ve got a little sour taste in my mouth with the way we ended,” Lanning told FOX Sports right after the game. “We gotta be able to win the fourth quarter, but ultimately, I thought I saw some good play. There’s gonna be some stuff we can build off of.”
That pretty much summed up his tone later in the press room. The Ducks forced turnovers, made some nice adjustments in the run game after halftime, and got smart decision-making from their quarterback. But the Wildcats’ game plan kept things closer than Oregon fans probably would’ve liked.
“I thought we lacked a little killer instinct there at the end,” Lanning said. “Our standard can’t change. Northwestern came out here with a good plan. They executed it well… outside of some turnovers I think they were right in this game.”
Missed Chances Late
One of Lanning’s biggest frustrations was how Oregon handled the final few drives. Northwestern slowed the game down with long possessions, and Oregon didn’t always maximize its limited chances.
“We knew this was going to be a limited-possession game… They did a really good job of eating the clock,” Lanning explained. “We’ve got to take advantage of every series, and at times we did that and at times we didn’t.”
The coach said he was proud of the team’s energy and focus on the sideline, but the execution down the stretch left him wanting more.
It’s easy to see why Lanning was frustrated. The team came out flat and allowed Northwestern to move the ball methodically down the field for a large part of the first quarter. It was glaring how the team got pushed around upfront on both sides of the line of scrimmage, and the team just looked out of it early on in the game.
Rivalry on Deck
Next week, the Ducks head back to Autzen for a showdown with Oregon State (12 p.m. PT, Big Ten Network). At 3–0, Oregon is right where it wants to be in the standings, but their head coach is pushing for a higher standard — especially when the fourth quarter rolls around.
“Our standard can’t change,” Lanning said.
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