On the eve of this season’s Pac-12 Championship game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Oregon Duck Football News swapped questions with Duckswire by USA TODAY to get their take on the current state of Oregon Football.
ODFN posed ( Five ) questions,…( plus one ) to Duck beat writer Zachary Neel that touches on everything from Dan Lanning’s culture change within the Oregon program to facing the Washington Huskies a second time in the same season.
Here they are; Five questions for Oregon beat writer Zachary Neel.
1) What has surprised you, if anything, about this Oregon season?
I think I’ve been most surprised by how dominant they have been in the trenches this year. We knew that the offense would be elite under Will Stein with Bo Nix at the helm, and we knew that Dan Lanning had goals of beefing up the defensive line and making it look more like an SEC product, but I didn’t think it would happen this quickly. The same goes for the offensive line, which has not missed a beat after being one of the best in the nation last year and losing their coach to the NFL. Just an elite year all around in the trenches.
2) Where or what has been the biggest improvement this season?
I want to say the defense as a whole has improved but to narrow it down, I will say I’ve been most impressed with the secondary. Oregon’s pass defense was abysmal last year, ranked as one of the worst in the nation. But by bringing in guys like Khyree Jackson, Evan Williams, and Tysheem Johnson, they’ve stepped up in a major way and really helped out the team. That also is credit to the defensive line improving when it comes to getting pressure on the QB, which is much better this year as well.
3) What has Dan Lanning brought to this Oregon program that maybe other Head Coaches haven’t?
It’s been mentioned a lot this year, but just the sense of community that his team has. That’s one of the things that players said when Lanning came in that needed to improve the most. Through the connection on the team between players, coaches, and everyone else in the program, you can feel a sense of family that resonates with the fans. It’s clear that this team plays for each other and I think that helps the end product.
4) For Duck fans, can you describe the culture of this team that has made them so difficult to play?
I think one thing that Lanning has done with the culture in Eugene that has worked really well is instilling the mindset that it’s not about the team Oregon is playing, but rather the standard that they have set. In years past, we’ve seen Oregon teams play down to the competition because they may not respect them as much as they should, and think they can get by without their A-game. But Lanning’s team this year has routinely said that it’s Ducks vs. Ducks, and that they don’t care how good the opponent is, but rather that they want to play to their standard each week. When your standard is as high as it is in Eugene, that’s a tough team to beat.
5) What does the future hold for this program,..ie,…Will Dan Lanning be a long-term head coach in Eugene?
I think that depends on what you consider long-term. Do I think that Lanning will still be the coach here in 2035? Eh, probably not. I would think the NFL might lure him away by then. Will he be here in 2028? That wouldn’t surprise me. He seems like a guy who plans to stick around for a few years. Will he be here in 2024 and 2025? Absolutely. I don’t see Lanning leaving within the next couple of years.
And for good measure, ODFN added one additional question for Zachary about Friday’s match-up with undefeated and No. 3 ranked Washington.
6) What advantage, if any, is there to playing the same team twice?
I think ultimately, you just get to be better prepared for what you’re going to see. The Ducks know what Washington is going to try and do, and they know exactly how the Huskies can beat them. Game-planning against that isn’t hard because they pretty much already have the answers to the test. The key is going to be figuring out what you can better do to beat the Huskies in the second meeting, while also trying to plan for what wrinkles they can throw in as well this time around.
Oregon Duck Football News would like to thank Zac and Duckswire by USA TODAY for sharing his thoughts with us and Duck football fans.
Happy holidays!