Oregon Ducks football coach Dan Lanning wasn't all that pleased following his team's 34-27 win over Boise State in the 2026 season opener. The Ducks were sloppy much of the time, and while some mistakes are expected in first games, others were compounded by miscues that just can't happen, first game or not.
The Ducks were flagged 10 times for 90 yards, and some of those were costly, directly leading to Boise State scoring just a couple of plays later.
There was a lot of bad in that game, but there was a lot of good also. Oregon managed to play through the adversity, erase a 10-point deficit, and eventually hang on to win against a determined Broncos team that showed why they are favorites to win the new Pac-12 this year.
Now the Ducks will face
a different kind of adversity as they go on the road for the first time this season, a trip to Stillwater, Okla., to face a brand new Oklahoma State team. This isn't the team Oregon played just a year ago and pounded 69-3. The Cowboys have 91 new scholarship players, so film is limited. They did play at Tulsa last week, but OSU fell 24-10.
Here's everything Lanning had to say in his weekly Monday night press conference before preparing to face the Big 12 team.
Opening Statement
Dan Lanning: Well, certainly, you know, a little bit different getting right back to work. But I want to take the time to again thank our fans for the incredible atmosphere this past weekend and some great lessons that we were able to learn as a team. But got a ton of respect for Coach (Eric) Morris and what we're about to face here at Oklahoma State. I know this will be his first home game there. I'm sure it'll be an unbelievable atmosphere. Actually, never coached there, but I know they do a really good job, and it's really a new team. A lot of new faces in that program. I think they have over 90 new players in that program, so it's going to look a lot different than the last time we faced this team. The first opportunity for us to travel on the road and see what we are able to do on the road. So it's a good opportunity for us. Certainly, our guys were anxious to get to work today. They did a good job of attacking the things that they got to work on. But this will be a fun one for us for to go face a good team, you know, at a conference in a different environment.
Team's response after close win
Question: You kind of touched on that a little bit, but what have you seen the last two days in terms of response from Saturday, and how did you challenge them coming out of that one?
DL: Sunday was really a recovery day for us, so today was our first time to get some time. But there were a lot of players in the building watching film yesterday. Thought the guys responded well, you know. And you see a result like that for us. Ultimately, there were some things that we did that were really good in the game, and then there were some things that we didn't do well in the game as well. So I think there are individual performances that were really positive, and then some that weren't. But ultimately, just came out slow. And then give credit to a good team too. Boise's a good team. They always play as tough. But I thought our guys responded today, attacked what they needed to attack.
Situational football
Q: When you took a look at the film, did you feel like situational football, those sort of moments were maybe one of the growth areas that came out of that game?
DL: We certainly didn't win, you know, in some of those moments. So we had some critical fourth downs that we didn't convert on. We had some mistakes in special teams, you know, that showed up. Obviously, a muffed punt. There were also some missed calls. I mean, you know, specifically Evan's (Stewart). You know, that should have been a penalty. So I don't think you can lose sight of that, but that doesn't mean we can't do a better job coaching it and do a better job in general of handling some of those situations. When you don't convert on fourth and you do go forward on fourth in the middle of the field, you're going to give them short fields, right? When you don't tackle well, you're going to give up some explosive plays. So there are all things that we can really attack. Some of it was situational, but some of his, you know, technique and some of his performance.
O-line performance
Q: First chance to see this offensive line in a game situation after watching the film. How do you kind of feel about their performance? I think there were eight or nine guys that played and rotated in.
DL: Overall, I thought they played well together as a unit. I thought they were able to protect the quarterback. You know, we got movement at times and handled some things really well at times, and then certainly some moments that we can be better too. So, you know, at first glance at that group, I think we'll continue to see how that group develops over time.
Linebacker performance
Q: After Saturday's game, you said Dylan Williams played pretty well, but you wanted to go watch the film and get a better feel for it. I'm just curious about what that showed and your overall thoughts in the room too at linebacker?
DL: Yeah, the biggest thing I think Dylan played fast. You know, at times there are also some plays that he wishes he had back, and some moments he could have back as well. But I thought Dylan proved why he was on the field and how he could impact us.
Mestemaker a Duck?
Q: Looking at Oklahoma State ahead of the season, Drew Mestemaker said that Oregon was the school he was looking at a little bit. I just wanted to confirm if you guys were talking to him back in January at all, and then also going against him this weekend, what are the challenges he's going to present?
DL: I was never talking to Drew. That doesn't mean that people didn't communicate or were aware that he was in the portal. I'm sure any good player was aware of in the portal, but I think it was pretty quick that he made the decision he was going to be going, you know, following his coach there. I will say this: Drew's an unbelievable player. You know, you see his arm strength show up. He's a guy that can stand flat-footed and throw a 60-yard bomb. So he's got a really strong arm. You know, they have a really strong passing attack. There's a reason why they were the number one scoring offense in the nation last year at North Texas. But you know that shows up, and he's obviously the guy who makes that tick for them.
An Eric Morris team
Q: You mentioned kind of some admiration for Coach Morris and the way he's run his programs in the past. What stands out from Eric Morris coach team?
DL: The first time that we bumped into him was one of my early games here when he was at Washington State. He was the offensive coordinator there, and we were down in a crazy environment there, kind of similar in a lot of ways to the game that we just played, you know, Boise State even more so. I think we were down 12 points in that game, and Cam Ward was playing for him at that point. But he does a lot of stuff that's disruptive on offense. That's tough. He can create explosive plays. They thrive off him. They throw the ball extremely well. You know, he's even improved in his performance when it comes to the run game and what they're able to create in the run game now. But always thought he's done a really good job from that perspective.
Penalty problem
Q: After the game, you talked about penalties and wanting to clean that up. How much do you attribute having watched the tape? How much do you attribute that to this is the first week, first game, first game jitters type thing? And how do you look to address that as you guys prepare for your first road test and at Stillwater?
DL: I don't attribute any of it to first-game jitters. I attribute that to lack of discipline. I thought we had a lack of discipline at times that created some of those penalties. You know, some of them I don't necessarily agree with everyone that was was flagged, but ultimately I think some of those penalties are definitely avoidable, regardless of what game it is.
Injury update
Q: Iverson Hooks, and Jalen Lott, both not dressed on Saturday. Can you share an update, I guess, on their status at this point?
DL: Yeah, Jalen will be down just for a little bit. Had a minor, you know, corrective surgery on his hand. Iverson kind of tweaked his hamstring in the middle of last week, so he just wasn't able to go full strength. Think we'll have him back this week.
Getting to the quarterback
Q: Going into this year, the defensive line was saying one of their main intentions was to get home on the quarterback more and kind of finish those rushes. After watching the tape, how do you kind of feel they did in that process in this game?
DL: Yeah, there were some moments we did it. I think we executed our rush plan. Guys used proper technique. We were able to get home. You know, I also think Boise State had a great plan of getting the ball out. You know, and I think when we were able to take advantage was when there are known passing situations and they had to throw the ball, we were able to rush well in those moments.
New wrinkles
Q: Always see new wrinkles, and it seems like maybe this year, use of five defensive linemen edges at the same time. What do you like about that formation, and how do you feel like it performed on Saturday?
DL: Some good, some bad. Ultimately, it creates one-on-ones up front, which makes it a challenge, you know. But there's also other, you know, positives and negatives to it as well. You know, coverages kind of show themselves a little bit more in those looks, so you have to be able to do it with different, you know, presentations.
Screen blocking
Q: How would you assess the perimeter blocking on screen passes? Seemed like it was maybe inconsistent on Saturday.
DL: Yeah, it's pretty good on J-Mac's (Jeremiah McClellan) screen, you know, but inconsistent is fair. I think the space-blocking ones were the ones where there were, you know large large areas of space between us and the blocker. Those are the ones we have to improve, and something we're going to work to improve.
Scouting a new team
Q: Beyond first game film, how do you scout a team when basically their entire team is new this year?
DL: You go all the way back to the history of the coaches, which you're replaying. You take a look at the first game and say how much of it does it line up with the history of what they've been in the past and what they do. There are some similarities in the things that they did at North Texas and in their first game here against Tulsa. But just kind of do a deep dive and then you evaluate yourself. What have you been susceptible to? What do you need to improve? And try to attack it kind of from both fronts.
Processing Oklahoma State's loss
Q: Coach Morris had a lot of success last year, and over the course of his North Texas tenure, and last week was a little rough for them. How do you kind of process just their week one result heading into this week?
DL: I don't necessarily put a ton of stock in the fact that they didn't win the game. You look at the scheme and it's been effective everywhere that he's been, whether it's Incarnate Word, whether it's Washington State, you know, whether it's North Texas, and now at Oklahoma State. So they've they've created a lot of points wherever they've been. You know, it's a first team. You have 91 new players. I imagine that's tough to get that figured out. You know, in a short amount of time, especially, we don't see what it looks like until you really get on the game field. So they also had some really tough situations throughout the game. Had the ball down at the goal line, they're about to punch it in to have a score, and they don't get it right. They had some costly turnovers that happened throughout the game, so the score could be, you know, completely different given a couple of different situations. Kind of similar to ours, our score could be completely different, you know, based on a couple of situations.
Evaluating coordinators
Q: First game with these two new coordinators. I know Drew (Mehringer) was up in the booth, whereas Will (Stein) used to be down on the field. Just logistically, how did you think things went with these two new guys?
DL: I thought operationally it was really smooth, right? And you know, you want guys in a position where they'll be successful, and you have coaches, you know, across the board that can be up or down that you trust, you know, to get great information from and deliver great information, so I thought overall the operation there went smooth.
Cowboys defense
Q: What just stands out about their defense, Oklahoma State, and just the challenges they may present?
DL: Coach Skyler Cassity does a really good job there. Again presents a lot of different looks. They're primarily a four-down team, right? But they do a lot of stuff, right? Ultimately, they can do it in a lot of different ways. Right. They utilize nickel personnel. They can play bracket quarters. Right. They can bring a lot of simulated pressures that you have to be prepared for. But yeah, just the fact that they're adaptable and adjustable, I think you can see that. You know, they travel the nickel to the boundaries. Sometimes they don't and sometimes it's like a combination of both. So there's a lot of different pictures that they can present. They get to go against tempo every single day. I think that's one of the biggest things that obviously they present on offense. So their ability to line up. You know, we had some successful plays on Saturday because we were able to line up fast and get the ball out before the defense was lined up that you can anticipate that happening in this game because they get to face that quite a bit.
Continuity from North Texas
Q: You mentioned a couple times you saw the new faces there. A lot of them did play together at North Texas. How much do you think continuity, especially on offense, where they have quarterbacks and receivers and running backs who play together, could help a team early, kind of general?
DL: I think there's a huge benefit there when you start looking at the personnel. You know, obviously you mentioned quarterback. You know, some dynamic wideouts that were there as well. So there's certainly a lot of that that allows them to run their system effectively.
Scheduling
Q: A lot of you guys have been through the Big Ten and playoff travel thing before, but how can this longer trip early in the season help you guys once conference play rolls around?
DL: Yeah, just a little bit different. I mean, we're playing this game at 9 a.m. our time. I think the heat will be something that we'll have to adapt to. You know, relatively quick. It hasn't been hot up here, and it's obviously going to be really warm on the turf there. So, just traveling, how you hydrate, how you make sure that you're fresh when you get down there- all those things will contribute, and we have to handle it really well because you're going to travel in this conference.
More linebacker play
Q: How would you assess Carl (Williams) and Devon's (Jackson) play at the star spot in this game? Would you see on film that you liked? What do you think they need to improve on?
DL: Yeah, some good and some bad. You know, I know everybody's picking a play, the touchdown play for Carl. It's really not Carl's mistake on that play. The coverage was executed wrong, so it's easy to look at one play as a fan and say, okay, this isn't right, and it's not at all correct. So, congrats. Right. On the same note, I thought Dave Hall made some good plays. You know, had some positive moments. You know, obviously at TFL, and it's proven again that he's got to complete winning football, and that's why he was out there for us.
Handling the Oklahoma heat
Q: What's the hottest game you remember coaching in, either at Oregon or in the past? How much does that really impact things if it's triple digits?
DL: When I was at Arizona State, I'm sure I coached in some hot ones. It's a different type of heat. That's the oven heat. In Georgia, I've coached in some really humid ones, and same with Memphis or my time in Texas. So I've certainly been in some hot games. I think in these games, again, it's what preparation you can do throughout the week to make sure you're able to perform when you get there? Then it's about how many players you have who can play winning football, because strength in numbers has to show up in a game like that.
Ferguson and Utu
Q: Trent Ferguson came in and spelled Douglas Utu at the left guard spot. One, how do you think Trent did in that spot? Two, was that always the plan going in to have them go about half and half, or was there a reason Douglas had to come out of the game?
DL: A combination, again. Trent has shown that he's able to. Obviously, he had the false start early. Can't have that. But he was able to go out there and execute, and we had some success there in the second half. I think there are some moments that he wants to have back. I also think Doug played a really good half, too, and did some good things in the game as well.
Travel plans
Q: Last week, Boise State got here and had travel issues. I'm sure you've dealt with travel issues before. With classes not in session, does that allow you to go earlier than you maybe normally would during the school year? How do you accommodate for that?
DL: It doesn't really affect us from that standpoint. We are going to travel on Thursday, and that's strictly because we're playing in a 9 a.m. game. When you travel multiple time zones and you're going to play early, I think there's an advantage to getting there a little bit earlier. But it doesn't necessarily change any of our practice structure. We practice Thursday mornings anyway, so a lot of that is going to look the same. We'll just be there a little bit earlier.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Everything Dan Lanning said in press conference before Week 2 game
