Sometimes first impressions aren’t true indicators of what someone is made of or even how good they are. No one knows that like Dan Lanning, who arguably had one of the biggest face plant debuts or bad first impressions a new coach can have on a program with the bright lights shining on him.
In Atlanta, he led his Oregon Ducks for the first time against his former employer and defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs and it felt the Ducks forgot to get off the bus in a 49-3 rout at Mercedes Benz Stadium. After the game Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said of Lanning,
“Well it wasn’t about Dan Lanning, it really wasn’t. I saw him before the game. I’ve got a lot of respect for him… A ton of the players out on that field, Dan Lanning recruited. And Dan Lanning did a tremendous job for the University of Georgia, while he worked for the University of Georgia. Now, he’s working for Oregon. He’s going to do a really good job at Oregon. He’s relentless. And they’ll bounce back from this. And he knows that we got better players. And he’ll never say it, but he knows we got better players and I respect how he works.”
– UGA head coach Kirby Smart
In a profile I wrote about Lanning in the preseason, I mentioned the story how he drove from Kansas City to Pittsburgh for a chance interview with then Pitt head coach Todd Graham and literally did anything asked and worked his way up to becoming a recruiting coordinator under Graham. It is the work ethic then that he demonstrated then that is translating into his current position. His character and how he works is why Oregon was able to rebound from a humiliating defeat to being ranked in the Top 10 as Oregon prepares to host UCLA in the sixth Top 10 showdown in Autzen Stadium Saturday.
Lanning will get another shot in a high profile showdown with Chip Kelly, who coached the Ducks from 2009 to 2012 to a 46-7 record. Lanning said about Kelly and his familiarity with Autzen Stadium this week in his press conference,
“The environment, the noise, the fans, all those pieces are great elements, but none of those things are playing the game. So none of that’s really going to have a factor. Playing here before, that can be a factor in this game. He’s got great experience in this place. I’m sure he has some fond memories in this place. But none of that’s really going to carry into what actually has to happen from an execution standpoint on the field.”
–Dan Lanning on Chip Kelly’s experience playing at Autzen
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The matchup features two offenses that operates eerily similar. UCLA enters the contest the No. 12 total offense at 505.7 yards per game backed by a ground game at 211.5 yards per game, scoring just under 42 points per game.
Oregon currently has the No. 8 total offense in the country at 512.5 yards per game backed by the No. 9 ground attack at 241.7 yards per game and scoring offense 42 points per game. Lanning recognized similarities and differences saying,
“I think it’s good to go against a great offense every day in practice. Obviously, this is a great offense. And sometimes you speak about great offensive nowadays, they don’t run the ball. This is a team that runs the ball, they run the ball really well. They’ll scheme runs where they’ll gain extra hats based off pullers and leverage and numbers counts. That’s something they do a good job of. It’s not just fast to go fast, they mix in the tempo. So certainly helps us going against that each day against our offense, but it’s not necessarily the same. There are some slight differences.”
– Lanning on the similarities of Oregon and UCLA’s offenses
Quarterback Bo Nix mentioned this week about the tempo and speed Lanning and offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham like to operate, “We take pride in the tempo and we take pride in going fast. Once we start drives and get the first first down, we can really get into the tempo. Coach Dillingham does a great job of fitting the scheme and allowing the tempo to be a good tool for the offense.”
Lanning recognized UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson as an extraordinary athlete with the ball.
“We really haven’t played anybody quite like him, in my opinion. He runs like a backer or wideout with the ball. So like I said, he can stop and go, he’s got great acceleration and speed and does a good job of the ball in his hands. For a team that runs the quarterback as much as they do they take care of the ball. So we do have to do a good job of attacking it when we get the opportunity and making sure that we’re in position to tackle.”
– Dan Lanning on UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson
Defensively, since the Georgia game, Lanning’s defense has rebounded in a very big way. After surrendering 571 yards of total offense, including letting Georgia convert 9 of 10 third downs while racking up 26 first downs, the Ducks defense has gelled into a cohesive unit that is only surrendering 98 yards rushing per game, good for No. 13 in the country.
Lanning mentioned this week that success on early downs will be pivotal to how successful third down defense will be. “Ultimately on defense, we really want to stand out on third down and do a better job there on third down. I think that’s important for us to be a tough, challenging game because we’re one of the best in the nation at it.”
For a coach entering his seventh game of his tenure, Lanning is creating an exciting culture at Oregon. When you watch the sidelines they are extremely active and the players passions are on full display. Whichever result the Ducks have on Saturday, one thing is certain that Dan Lanning has Oregon primed to be a national power.
