Dan Lanning has sharp quip for Columbus Dispatch reporter ahead of Rose Bowl showdown with Ohio State
When you ask a question in media availability to Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, there's always a possibility that he responds with some serious sarcasm. One thing has been abundantly clear about Lanning — he's going to answer how he wants to answer, and he's not going to discuss what he doesn't want to discuss. In […]
When you ask a question in media availability to Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, there's always a possibility that he responds with some serious sarcasm. One thing has been abundantly clear about Lanning — he's going to answer how he wants to answer, and he's not going to discuss what he doesn't want to discuss.
In the head coach teleconference leading up to the Rose Bowl, Lanning had one of those moments.
The reporter, Rob Oller from the Columbus Dispatch, asked Lanning about what goes into creating a gameplan for a rematch, whether you continue to do what works or add wrinkles from the last meeting with Ohio State in October, to which Lanning responded by saying "you said you're from Columbus? So you want our game plan? Yeah, we're going to call the exact same thing."
"You look at what worked, you look at what didn't work, you look at how your team's changed, you try to play again to your strengths, and you look at how your opponent's team's changed," Lanning continued after his quip. "There's going to be some differences in this game from the last game, for sure."
The last time the two teams met, Oregon's playmakers were able to consistently beat Ohio State's defense deep. Since that meeting, Ohio State has significantly tightened that aspect up. Since quarterback Dillon Gabriel torched Ohio State for 341 passing yards, Ohio State hasn't allowed a single quarterback to pass for 200+ yards.
The Buckeyes defense is the best in the country, full stop. They rank first in just about everything, including but not limited to opponents points per game, yards per game, yards per play, red zone scoring percentage, and passing yards per game.
Lanning having been afforded the opportunity to spend three full weeks gameplanning with his staff, including his creative offensive coordinator Will Stein, will give them all the time in the world to figure out how to best attack this defense.
The only other team to beat Ohio State this year was Michigan, who did so with only 62 passing yards. They thrived on making plays on defense and being able to crank out run plays to the tune of 172 rushing yards.
As simple as it is, it was about the line of scrimmage, which is something Lanning preaches continuously. They won in the trenches. They ran for almost 100 yards more than Ohio State, they converted 50% of their third down opportunities, and they generated turnovers. No matter what Lanning and the Ducks try to do to beat this Ohio State defense, it's bound to be a heavyweight fight.
Ohio State head coach apparently forgot about an Oregon star defender ahead of the Rose Bowl
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Follow along all year for more Oregon Ducks coverage on A to Z Sports. You can find me on Bluesky @jonhelmkamp.bsky.social, as well as follow our main page @AtoZSports.bsky.social for all the latest news.
