Once again, the Oregon Ducks are picking up the pieces from an ugly loss, and this time, more changes could be in store. Oregon's hopes for a national championship this season are likely out the window, but Dan Lanning and the Ducks still have things they want to accomplish this season.
The next step starts this week against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who nearly took down Indiana at home last week. Led by a dynamic threat at quarterback in Anthony Colandrea, the Cornhuskers are a big-play offense that will force the Ducks' unit to keep up.
Dylan Raiola crumbled in his first start with the Ducks, leaving Brock Thomas to enter in the fourth quarter against UCLA and nearly lead a comeback. However, after coming up short, the Ducks are doing a full evaluation heading into the new week.
Oregon could start a third quarterback in as many games given Raiola's struggles. This is also an emotional week for the former five-star if he does get another start, this time facing his former team. Thomas could be in line to make his first start with the Ducks, but all eyes are still on Dante Moore as he recovers from a concussion.
Lanning previewed the upcoming matchup against Nebraska, opened up on the state of the quarterback room, and a potential change in the play-calling. Here's everything Lanning had to say on Monday as he met with the local media.
Opening Statement
Dan Lanning: "Obviously, reflection on our last game wasn't good enough in a lot of facets. Some things we did well, but plenty of things we didn't do right. You evaluate it, you evaluate everything there, and you say, 'OK, how can we get better?' And that's certainly what we're attacking right now for this week. Start off this morning, and really going into practice today, where our guys will really have the right mindset of how we can improve and what we can do to be better. We need to be better because we're about to play a really good Nebraska team.
"Obviously, gave Indiana everything that they could handle. They're playing really, really great on defense; very aggressive. They're a good tackling team. They don't give up long runs. You watch the explosive run cut up, and there's like five plays, right? I think that tells you a lot about a team when you're able to watch that and see that show up from them on offense. Their quarterback makes it work. I mean, he does an unbelievable job of creating plays with his feet. They have a great run game. They do a really good job of running hard runs, and they have play action shots that come off of that. And they complement that all with special teams. Probably one of the best returners we've seen this year, if not the best return we've seen this year, so it's a really talented group that we're going to have to play really well for. I know we'll have a great crowd for the night game, so that'll be a fun environment for us to be a part of."
Potential Changes
Question: After going over Saturday's game, are there any changes that you plan to make on your staff as far as offensive plate calling or offensive line?
DL: "Everything's being evaluated. I wouldn't reveal anything that we would do different. Doesn't give us any advantage from that standpoint. But there's a lot of pieces. It's really easy to point in one spot. I'd say that we — I wear it. Our whole staff wears it. Our whole team wears it. Every one of us has opportunities to improve. But yeah, there's going to be some changes. There's going to be some differences in the way that we operate and what we do, and there already is in the way we've operated this week. But as far as revealing how we'll do that, what things will look like, I'm not going to share that with you guys."
QB Competition
Q: If Dante can't go this week, is the assumption Dylan would make the start? And if not, talk about what that decision will be.
DL: "We've really got a competition in a lot of positions. Obviously, quarterback position, if Dante is not able to go. Offensive line, there's a lot of competition at that position. There's plenty of positions where there's competition. Really, there's competition every single week. Because I always say football is like renting a house. It's not owning a house. You have to pay rent every week, and we didn't do well enough in some areas that we have to really do hard evaluations and say, 'OK, how can we make sure that we're much better?'"
Bear Alexander
Q: Replay showed Bear Alexander punching Nico Iamaleava when they were on the ground. Bob Chesney called it egregious. I'm wondering, will Bear be disciplined for that, and what is your reaction to that play?
DL: "Based on how I saw it, and I feel horrible for the team; you never want to see a player get injured. I think Bear was trying to take a ball shot. We were pretty aggressive about when the quarterback's running. There's opportunities when the ball is loose. Obviously, it's late, and it's not the way it needs to be done. It wasn't executed the right way. Bear knows that. I think you know he feels bad about that. It's one of the first things he said to me. He goes, 'I didn't want to. I wasn't trying to hurt the guy,' and I don't think that's how he got hurt. I think it was actually on a lower extremity. But yeah, you don't want to see it play out like that. But you want your players to be aggressive and trying to punch the ball out."
Evaluating the Offense
Q: You said you needed to watch the film to know if it was an execution issue or a scheme issue with offensive production. What did that reveal to you?
DL: "Both. Again, we have to be able to do simple jobs, and there's going to be a lot. There's a lot of plays you pull up, and you're one player away, one technique away, and then again, you got to ask yourself: Are you putting our guys in the best situation to be successful at all times? And that's in every phase, right? Special teams, offense, defense, all of it. And you see all those things revealing themselves, you know, a little bit in the game. And some things that maybe we even identified earlier that could come up if you're playing the wrong team and the wrong look. Where you might get away with it in one week, but it's not going to work every single week. So all those things showed up. There's both that we can get better at and improve at, and certainly working to do that."
Offensive Line
Q: How close do you feel this offensive line is to finding the five? Do you feel like that timeline was delayed by early injuries?
DL: "Injuries certainly affect it, but that's part of the game. Football, you're gonna be banged up from here on out. We're gonna be playing banged up. There isn't a timeline. It reveals itself when it reveals itself. I don't know the number of exactly how many guys we tried out there on Saturday, but it was a lot, and that's hard to build continuity. But there's nobody that's separating themselves from a performance standpoint where you're like, 'This guy has to be the guy consistently,' and we have to be consistent at that position to be effective. But we have some guys that are capable of doing that. We just have to do it at a higher clip and more frequently. But there's going to be really open competition in the position."
3rd Down Trouble
Q: What needs to change, if anything, in order to give you guys the confidence that you guys can convert on those third-and-medium, third-and-long type plays?
DL: "Those are tough, and I think you said it first. The very first thing you have to do is you have to be much better on first and second. You're going to have third-and-longs in a game. You shouldn't have as many third-and-longs as we had. We walked into the last week, and we talked about, 'Hey, this is a talented team. We have to be really good on off-schedule situations on offense. Because they're going to create some second-and-longs, third-and-longs.' And then we have to be really good in short yardage moments on defense. And we were good in short yardage moments on defense, like those two situations we felt were going to show up at a higher clip in this game: third-and-longs, second-and-longs, and then on defense, third-and-shorts, fourth-and-shorts, because of their ability to run the ball, you know, effectively at UCLA.
"So we attacked those moments and tried to work on those moments, but we didn't have a good enough plan. But a lot of those problems on offense go back to being efficient on first and second down first, and then creating some rhythm. Even when we had some rhythm plays, I said it to you guys before; I know we finished with seven turnovers. I've never been a part of a game where I've had five turnovers, and you've had success. Two of those you could chop up either way. It's a fourth-down stop, and it's the last play of the game where you're trying to keep the ball alive, but five of them were legitimate turnovers that absolutely gave you zero chance to win. So protecting the ball. The fumble down there in the red area — that's going to turn into three points. That could be the difference in the game. The interceptions where you're given short fields and we're able to get some stops is impressive. But the ball security issues are a real focus, so I think it goes back to still a fundamental piece of how you're going to be better on first and second down, how you're going to protect the ball, right? Then you give your chance yourself a chance to have success on third, and hopefully you're avoiding some of those third and longers because of the success on first and second. That doesn't mean we don't need to still have a better plan on third and long, right? But that goes back to OK, players over plays. What can you do well? What allows us to be able to utilize the guys that we have"
Dylan Raiola vs. Brock Thomas
Q: Dylan really struggled on Saturday. The offense was better when Brock was in. What did the film tell you about the reason for those, and how much will that go into the decision for this week at quarterback?
DL: "Yeah, it all plays into effect. Again, the body weight of this week all plays into effect. I mean, the question was asked to me: Why not make the change sooner? I think that's fair. On the same note, I feel like some of those positions we put them in weren't successful opportunities as well. I think we made some adjustments in getting the ball out a little bit quicker, creating some more open pictures that allowed Brock to do that. But you have to be able to protect the ball. That's all part of it. And again, just like I said after the game, Dylan's also a guy that played really well against USC, and you have to be aware of that as well. So, what are the differences in those two games? Differences in opponent. What's it going to look like this weekend in practice? It all starts with the number one job. I think if anybody ever asks me, what do you have to do at quarterback? You have to protect the ball. That's the first thing that's going to give us a chance to have success.
"Dylan knows that he owns that. I mean, he had the courage to even come down, sit in front of you guys, and talk about where he can be better. I think that speaks volumes about who he is. He's an important part of this team. He's going to compete his tail off this week. And so will Brock, and so will the O-line, and so will defense, and so will our specialists. All those things are going to add up. But we all acknowledge you're not going to win games when you have that level of unsuccessful plays."
Advantage of Not Revealing Changes
Q: Do you feel like you owe it to fans to have that level of transparency in what you guys are doing, and then beyond that, what advantage does it provide you to not share that info?
DL: "No, I don't owe it to anybody to reveal that. And what advantage? It tells the other team what to prepare for. Do you see it differently?"
Q: "It's the people who are in charge of what that I'm that I'm asking about. How does that provide an advantage to the opponent if they know the history?"
DL: "Based on who the coach is, you're able to look at the history of the coach and say, 'OK, this is what they've done in the past. This is maybe we're going to see this at a higher clip. We're able to see this at a different level.' Again, I think it's more about us offensively having a collaborative effort of us all walking out, having a really good, detailed plan. There haven't been enough details. It's not just one person. It's not just Drew, right? It's not just Koa. It's not just A'lique. I've done my best to make sure I'm not on social media because I'm sure it's not a lot of positive on there. That's that's the way it goes, right? Either direction, when it's good or when it's bad. But A'lique's the same coach that I know coached a Joe Moore Award finalist group the last three years. So it's not that all of a sudden this guy can't coach. It means we've got to coach better. We've got to put our guys in really good situations to have success.
"Drew's a guy that's had a lot of success too. Maybe not as a coordinator, right? But he's had a lot of success and been a big, big piece of our game planning operation here, day in and day out. Does it have to look better? Yes. It's also the group that scored touchdowns the week before against USC and created some of that success. So acknowledging that now, here's what I also acknowledge: You say we played well in Boise State at times. We played well in the USC game, right? That's not enough. Portland State doesn't count. That's not a high enough clip to say that we're successful. But I also know I'm sure people weren't happy with our performance at Oklahoma State, myself included. That same defense went out and performed at a really high clip last week against a good UCLA team that's been rushing the ball better than anybody, and it's the same people doing it. What can we get better at? Some of the details. What are we going to attack on defense? Our first-play defense of the game has been really bad in multiple games. Oklahoma State. You don't recognize it, but against Portland State, it was really bad. There was an opportunity for a huge play in that game. And then obviously UCLA, that big play led to a field goal.
"So we had to get better there. We continue to assess every evaluation or every piece that shows up on the field and how we can improve it. And that doesn't mean you throw out the baby with the bathwater necessarily in every situation. Solving problems is about what do you have as resources to solve those problems and the ability to do that, and that's my job. I'm gonna work extremely hard to do it. Will we do everything exactly the same? Absolutely not. Do I think there's any merit or value for me sharing transparency to fans on what that looks like? No, because they're not part of the winning process. But they are part of that atmosphere that we have, and I love our fans. I hope they respect that, but I don't want it. On the same note, I don't want to create any advantage for any other team that we have operating. And at the end of the day, I have to answer for wins and losses. If I thought telling the fans would help me win, then I'd tell them. But I don't think it helps me win. It's all about how do we win, and that's what I'm focused on."
Raiola vs. Nebraska
Q: Regardless of if he plays or not, it's going to be an emotional week for Dylan taking on the team he transferred from, given the performance he had. What's your message to him this week in preparing for potentially playing, and how do you think he's going to be able to respond this week?
DL: "Dylan's a guy that cares. I'll say what I was impressed with in general: our guys' body language as a whole. Like a lot of you, you never go through life where you're on a stage in front of the whole world, and you get replaced in front of the whole world; that's really hard, man. I don't know how like most normal people would handle that situation. I thought Dylan handled it with unbelievable grace, right in that moment, and was really humble. There's no way you're not disappointed that you're getting pulled from that moment. He handled that extremely well. I thought there was some unbelievable composure on our sideline for guys feeling like no matter what the situation looks like, how dire it was. I saw receivers that even though they aren't touching the ball as much as they need to touch the ball, right? Backs that are having success. I saw guys that had great body language, like they're saying the right things on the sideline to improve it. Now the playing has to improve, the execution has to improve, but the mindset and the temperament of those players, I thought, was really outstanding from my perspective on the field, and really outstanding from that moment on in the locker room. What it looked like this week, and how they responded? This game means a lot. Of course, it's going to be an emotional game for Dylan. Being the place that he came from, he's going to do everything he can to make sure that our team's in the best situation to have success this week and be prepared and play as well as we possibly can. I know he'll do that because he's a pro."
Keeping Confidence
Q: All the expectations, preseason, and the talk, and to be 3-2, there's a lot of guys certainly disappointed, frustrated, understandably. So, how do you keep this team's confidence high, and not lose that confidence of the plan and the process of what you guys are doing? Have you seen a dip in confidence?
DL: "No, but I think it'd be silly for me to acknowledge that there were high expectations outside. There certainly were high expectations inside, and as I said, we acknowledge now you're not really in the driver's seat. Now you are in the driver's seat for how you respond. I haven't seen any indications that this team's not trying to respond the right way and attack things the way that you want to have success on the field. We all have high expectations. I think if anything, there are these outcome-based goals I've talked about before. Maybe we were more outcome-based oriented. Maybe too comfortable. Maybe reading the press clipping, all those things. But I promise you, going into this game, those guys weren't doing that. They were really hungry. They prepared, as I told you, they prepared really hard. The execution wasn't good enough, right, on the field, and the plan wasn't good enough on the field for us to have success.
"All that being said, in the game you still have an opportunity to potentially win. So the prep was where it needs to be. What we got to get are the details, right? I saw bad ball security throughout the last few games, and guess what? Bad ball security showed in the game. I didn't coach that well enough. I didn't have the accountability necessary in practice. We've always been a team that's protected the ball extremely well, and you know obviously that didn't happen in this game. So that's something I can coach better. Our coaching staff can coach better, and it's going to be ultimately the way we respond is how I'm going to be measured and what kind of team we are. So I always tell the guys in these moments, 'Look at me and tell me, what do you not see from me, or what you need to see me do, and how I operate, and model that.' If you're struggling to do it yourself, try to find somebody else on the team that's setting a really good example for where you want to go and how you improve. Because in life, there's winners and losers, and it's not necessarily winners and losers based on wins and losses.
"There are people that learn and grow from moments, and then there are people that, regardless of circumstance, they're going to crawl into a hole, right? They're going to they're going to be able to make excuses in their mind, right? Why it wasn't their fault. They're going to be worried about what somebody else's opinions are, and that's never going to lead to success, right? Regardless of whether you win or lose, if that's your mindset, you're a loser. That's what I do think we have on this team, is a bunch of winners, and then we have some guys that still have the opportunity. They need to grow up and don't know how to react in that moment. But as I said, I thought I saw some good reactions from our players. How do you respond to moments like this?"
Outside Noise
Q: Evan Stewart had said on Saturday night that he felt that this team was too outcome-oriented and a little bit too focused on the outside noise when you do preach FEBU and make it very clear how little you think of what we say and what people outside of the program say. How do you explain a team that's full of veterans that have been on this team for a long time, that have that mindset and that are self-admittedly kind of worried about what other people think of them?
DL: "Yeah, it's hard. I think it's easier for me as a 40-year-old to ignore the noise. I think that's hard as an 18- to 22-year-old to ignore it, especially when your phone pops off, notifications, your name gets mentioned again, and it's something I think that'll be more and more important as we continue to coach here. That's only going to get harder in today's age. So you educate, you do the best you can, but to acknowledge that that doesn't always happen, that's a reality. What I think our players-they've probably learned some hard lessons this year because of that. I can't take everybody's phone when they show up in the building. They can't check out with me. There's a lot of voices that they're going to hear.
"The question is: what do they do ultimately when they hear that, and how does that affect them? That's our job as much as we can. Attack that, but ultimately you have to be mature enough to realize that, again, it doesn't impact the reality of what we have to do and how you have to improve."
Nebraska's Pass Rush
Q: I wanted to ask about Nebraska's pass rush. I think they have eight different players with multiple sacks coming from every level. What do you see on the film there, and the challenge for this offensive line to keep whoever's at quarterback protected?
DL: "Very sound, but a lot of different looks, a lot of different pictures. Very disruptive. They have backers that do a good job in pressures. They have ends that rush extremely hard. There are a lot of different looks that you have to be prepared for. So that's the key. How long do we need to protect for what we're trying to put in? What are the packages that we want to be able to carry and be able to do effectively, and how can you take advantage of that? On the same note, like we said, a lot of weeks we have to get the run game going to help protect some of that as well."
Rushing Attack
Q: Speaking to that with the run game, obviously you guys had success against USC on the edges, up the gut. Where was the disconnect between the two games where Jordon and Dierre weren't able to break off?
DL: "It's usually one guy right with one block, one miss. Somebody falling on the ground, and those things can't happen. But there were similar runs called, really in both games, similar pictures. Even the fumble that we're going for it on fourth down, you've got an opportunity for a real positive run. It's blocked up well, but obviously it doesn't matter if you don't have the ball in your hand. The fumble that Jordon had, that's a positive play that's going to potentially be really successful as well. The play before that was successful, so you see glimpses of it. We've just got to have some more consistency with it. I think that starts with dumbing down. 'OK, what are the things that we want to be able to do and doing really well?' There's probably been too much volume for what's actually getting called in a game, so it's something we've evaluated from that standpoint of can we simplify what we're trying to execute and then what do we do really well. I think there's been some plays that we've run that haven't been like extreme positives for us, but we kind of come back and look at them again and again, and it's that that's not necessary in those moments. And then there's been some plays that have been outstanding for us, you know, in the history of our time here, that haven't been because there's just one guy that's not able to sustain the block that we've been able to do in the past. So finding what our players can do well and maximizing those strengths."
Spreading the Ball
Q: Jamari Johnson, I think, had maybe two or three targets in that game, and I'm sure there's plays maybe quarterbacks missed him, and that could have increased it. But is there not that a set number? How do you get him more involved and the importance of him in this offense overall being successful?
DL: "It's not enough. Not remotely close. You can see that. Jamari's a guy that needs to be touching the ball. We've got some explosive players that need to be able to touch the ball. Dakorien Moore is a guy that needs to be touching the ball. Dierre Hill, I could name a lot of guys that are guys that need to be touching the ball. When you have three-and-outs, obviously that limits your opportunities. The amount of time on the field when you have turnovers limits your plays. We had a lot fewer plays on offense than we had on defense because we turned the ball over. I think some of it starts there, but we can certainly find better ways to make sure that we get targets to players."
Officiating Error
Q: What were you told by officials during that second 2-point try? It sounded like they announced to the crowd that they were moving to the half-yard line and eventually spotted at the 1-and-a-half-yard line. And obviously, the Big Ten issued that statement. What were you told, and what was your angle from it?
DL: "I was told it was moved to the half-yard line. We called a play obviously for the half-yard line, and then all of a sudden I got moved back to the 1-and-a-half. That's when I went and visited with the official to figure out what was going on. They said that was the proper ruling at the time. Obviously, that wasn't the proper ruling, and I got a call from the Big Ten. It's after the fact, so there's not a lot you can do about it. But that's no excuse for what the result of the game was. We can score from the three, like we can, or and from the 1-and-a-half, like you can score from the half-yard line. But it's disappointing it was wrong. I know they're disappointed they got it wrong. Apologies don't really matter in that moment. But that's not the reason we lost the game. I'm not going to use that as an excuse for us. But obviously, it was wrong, and they addressed it, and I hope that doesn't happen in games in the future."
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Everything Dan Lanning said ahead of Oregon's game against Nebraska