On Tuesday afternoon the No. 8 Oregon Ducks landed in the Valley of the Sun to begin their onsite preparations to play in the VRBO Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day against No. 23 Liberty.
Bowl officials, volunteers, media and VIP’s met the Ducks on the tarmac as their charter aircraft arrived just after 2 pm local time.
It was an official arrival ceremony that included a short press conference to welcome the Ducks to the Phoenix area.
“We’re thrilled to be here” said Oregon head coach Dan Lanning.
“It was a good trip down and excited to see the sun as we got down here. We are certainly excited about being a part of the Fiesta Bowl. I know our players
are anxious to get to work. But I’m also excited for them to reap some of the rewards of what bowl games mean and what the trips mean. We are excited to play a good opponent in Liberty. We know they are very talented and ready for this game, just like our team.”
Seated next to Lanning was defensive tackle Brandon Dorlus who could have opted out of the game to concentrate on his NFL draft preparation, however, Dorlus wanted to finish what he began.
“I’m pretty excited,” said Dorlus when asked about being in Phoenix.
“This game means a lot. My mom was an alumni of Liberty, so we have a little bit of blood between there. Any time I get to play with my team, another game, I’m excited. Just because it’s a bowl game — we want to go out and beat an undefeated team. So I can’t wait to get out there.”
FIESTA BOWL ARRIVAL PRESS BRIEFING
PHOTOS FROM TUESDAY’S ARRIVAL
