It was a clear and resounding message throughout the week.
The Ducks weren’t about to allow the disappointing loss to the Huskies beat them twice.
It was the clear and concise message from the Duck’s young and energetic head coach Dan Lanning that echoed onto the Hatfield Dowlin practice fields throughout the week.
The Ducks had so much to play for.
Not only were they playing for their departing seniors, they were also playing for their teammate Spencer Webb who they lost last summer.
They were also playing for national credibility, and mostly for the opportunity to win a conference title and a trip to the Rose Bowl.
“We talked about playing this game with an uncommon purpose,” said Lanning in his post-game comments.
“We wanted to play this game for something bigger than just us. This game was about the seniors taking the field for the last time, this game was about Spencer Webb. This game was about getting the ultimate team win and really not worrying about the opinions of others. Sometimes I think our best shows up when everyone else doubts us, which we certainly take note.”
And the best certainly showed up.
A hobbled quarterback and embarrassed defensive secondary led the Ducks to an impressive 20-17 win over No. 10 Utah.
“That was a lot of fun and man we made some mistakes, but we competed until the very end” explained Lanning.
“Offense, defense, special teams, it was really a complete team win. Certainly, there are moments in that game that I’d like to have back. We knew going into it that it would come down to takeaways, I didn’t realize it was going to go both ways.”
It also depended on the health of Bo Nix who strained his right ankle a week earlier against the Huskies.
Most of the college football universe tabbed Utah as the obvious winner if Nix wasn’t able to play. But like a dazed prizefighter, Nix taped himself up and met the challenge in the center ring.
“He was an aggressive rehab specialist, that’s how we like to term it. He was attacking rehab religiously” explained Lanning.
“I know he would sit here and credit our training staff, we’ve got a great medical staff and sports science group. The first priority was always his health. Early in the week, I didn’t know that he would be able to go. He was aggressive, he continued to work at it.
“Our medical group did a phenomenal job of assessing where he was at. Later in the week, we became more and more aware that we felt like hey this might be a possibility, let’s just see where it goes. This is one of those times where Pac-12 after dark was a good thing, it gave us a little bit more time for rehab, all the way up until the game.”
And it wasn’t just Nix who played team savior, it was also Nickelback Bennett Williams who came up big with two crucial and game-changing interceptions against Ute QB Cameron Rising.
Williams was extremely critical of his play last week against the Huskies and blamed himself for allowing the game to get away from the Ducks.
“He’s tough, he knows what’s required. He’s not going to sit here and say poor me” said Lanning when asked about Williams and the self-criticism he put on himself last Saturday.
“Sometimes you learn the most through adversity and he learned through some adversity. Our entire team learned through some adversity. That game last week wasn’t Bennett’s fault, it was our team, it was my fault. He took an opportunity to make a play in this game and execute several plays this game at a high level and I’m proud that he was able to do that.”
And now there’s one more hurdle to make in order for the Ducks to get to Las Vegas to take on a very good USC team for the conference title.
Oregon will travel next Saturday to Corvallis to take on a revitalized Oregon State team who would like nothing more than to ruin the Ducks chances of bringing home the conference championship.
(POST-GAME) DAN LANNING BREAKS DOWN THE WIN OVER UTAH