It's here. It's finally here.
The 2026 college football season is upon us, and the No. 2 Oregon Ducks have a real game on Saturday as they are set to host Boise State inside Autzen Stadium Sept. 5 (12:30 pm, CBS).
This will be the first time in Oregon's history that it will play a team from the Pac-12 and the Ducks are not the team from that conference. Rather, it will be the Broncos making their debut as a member of the Pac-12. The last time Boise State made a trip to Autzen was in 2024, when the Ducks slid by with a narrow 37-34 victory.
Oregon is hoping this game won't be nearly as close, as the Ducks are a 24.5-point favorite over Boise State. Dan Lanning's squad enters the season with high expectations, with a senior-led roster that is shooting
for the program's first national championship.
But as coaches from around the country say, it's one week at a time, and for this week, the Ducks' sole focus is on the Broncos, a team that was picked by the media to win the new Pac-12.
Lanning touched upon a variety of subjects during his first weekly Monday press conference and here is everything he had to say as the team prepares for Game 1 of the new season.
Opening Statement
Dan Lanning: It's finally here, game week. You know, certainly excited about the opportunity to play a great opponent in Boise State. And Oregon Athletics is off to a hot start already with soccer and volleyball, tearing it up. So this is a team I have a tremendous amount of respect for. You look at the last time we played these guys, and really they beat us in a lot of a lot of areas of the field. We were able to come away with a W because of special teams and some of that play, but it's a really well-coached team. Spencer does a great job of getting his guys ready. They play with an attitude and a toughness that shows up all over film. They've got some really dynamic players that do a really good job, and it seems like it's a really cohesive unit. So everything you expect from a Boise State team seems to be showing up on film, and obviously there's some unknowns because it's a new group and new team, but they're well coached and we expect their best. What I'm counting on are our fans to show up, pack the place, make it a special environment like I always see in Autzen Stadium. So that'll be it'll be fun to be out there on the field again with our guys and time to hit somebody else.
Learning from the last Boise State game
Question: You mentioned last time you saw them (Boise State). They gave you quite a test here. Is that something you bring up to your guys? Some of them were here. Some of them are new. So is that something you kind of use as a little bit of motivation after you need it for a Week 1 game?
DL: They're certainly aware of it. You know, I think they have a lot of respect for Boise State. There's a reason this team's been so successful over so many years. You know, it's really an identity program, and they have a great identity, but a lot of our guys on our team were a part of that game. They remember that game. They remember how tight it was, and again, it could have gone a lot of different ways. So they're familiar with it. They're excited to play somebody else, but it's going to be about who executes the best and performs to their capabilities.
Boise State's Super Bowl
Q: How much do the stakes for Boise State factor in with the fact that obviously this is the biggest game on their schedule? They're going to be up for it in their opener, and your guys' urgency to come out strong.
DL: I think we want to put the best product on the field, regardless of who we're playing. But certainly playing a great team like Boise State enhances that and shows you can't walk into this game relaxing by any means, you know, and I think that's great for us. This is a team that's very capable, and again, they've proven it time and time again. So I don't think it changes our prep or our mindset, but I think our players certainly recognize and our coaches recognize how talented and how well coached they are.
Finding offensive line starters
Q: We asked about the offensive line and kind of the state or where that's at, and obviously I know you're not going to tell us the starters, but do you feel like some of that's been solidified to where this will be starters on Saturday are probably going to be the guys throughout the season or kind of where you're at with that?
DL: I don't know that because, I mean if you look at every position on our team throughout the years, you've seen changes throughout the season. Do we have some guys we feel comfortable going into the game with? Yes. Are there still guys playing above the line ball at multiple spots, yes. So, will you see one group? No, I don't. I think you'll probably see some different guys, you know, in the lineup throughout, and that's because they've earned that and they work through it, and that'll kind of help us shape. Okay, it's a little different in practice. What's it like in a game? Who's performing the best?
Even if you go back to previous years, we started with offensive lines, you know, that we thought were the best going in, and then they changed over time. You know, that'll be the same with every position on our team. But we have some guys that are prepped and ready, and we feel like we're going to put them in position to be successful.
Boise being Boise
Q: You called Boise an identity program. I'm curious for the traits that typically show up year to year, regardless of players.
DL: Well, they've always had a dynamic run game. I think the run game sets up their shots and the way they throw the ball. They have a quarterback that's won a lot of games there, played a lot of games for them in Maddux Madsen. And then on defense, they're very aggressive at times. They tackle extremely well. They play with physicality. I think those are all things that really show up. And then they really challenge you in special teams. You know, their special teams coach Stacy (Collins) does a lot of different stuff that makes it tough. That you have to prep for and you have to be ready for, and it challenges your rules, so you know I think just everything that we grew up thinking about Boise State, whether it's thinking back to the Fiesta Bowl, like you see all those same traits in this program.
Easy to prepare for?
Q: You mentioned a couple of names Boise State has some key returners in key positions, talking about Madsen, does that make preparation easier when you know that they have so much production returning? Does that make the preparation during game week a little easier, especially for a Week 1 game where you might not have current game tape on them? Is the preparation easier knowing some of the returners?
DL: I don't know. You think about it like that. I mean, they've had an offseason like we've had an offseason. I'm sure they're doing some stuff that's a little bit different. I think it maybe makes it easier to know who to expect to be out there on the field. But I anticipate they'll have some different people out there that we're not we're not planning for either. Similar to us, you know, I think it'll be very similar from that standpoint. So I don't know if it changes your prep there.
A different Maddux Madsen
Q: Maddux, of course, was one of those quarterbacks you guys faced obviously two years ago in that game. The defense did a really good job at making him uncomfortable. Just what have you watched on film in the last year to see how he's grown, and can you take anything from that last meeting, or is it a completely new quarterback in a way that you guys are facing this Saturday?
DL: There are some similarities. I mean, he's always been a threat with his ability to run, and again, I think in that game, I mean, they rushed for over 200 yards rushing, and I think that you know. Have to rely on him throwing it as much. They scored, you know, points and had enough points to be successful in the game. If it wasn't for our special team scores, I don't know what that looks like. So, he's a really capable quarterback. When it's not there, he does a great job of being able to take off and run with it. And I think he's only gotten better since we played him. He's played a lot of snaps since then.
Boise's run game
Q: What stands out about their run game this year? Well, I guess from what you've seen in 2025 and what the what have you seen from their backs?
DL: You know, both their leading rushers are back, and they're both guys that could play on any team that we play this season. I mean, they're really, really talented. They've got change of speed. There's going to be some jersey numbers that are slightly different than last year, right? One's in zero now (Dylan Riley), one's in 26 (Sire Gaines), but they have proven to be really good backs. They've recruited well at back, and again, they have explosive ability when it comes to the run game, and then those guys also catch the ball well out of the backfield. And I think that's one of the things that makes Boise tough to prep for is, you know, they can throw it to their tight ends, they throw it to their backs, they throw it to their wideouts. Their runs look like their screens. Their their passes same as. So they just complement each other really well with the way they play and prep.
Jayden Virgin-Morgan
Q: What type of problems does their edge rusher Jayden Virgin-Morgan present? What have you seen from him on tape?
DL: Yeah, just strong motor, extremely disruptive, really able to disengage off of blocks. He can power rush, or he can finesse rush at times, speed rush. So you see that from, and they do a good job of letting the guys go. They use different techniques on the edge, but he's certainly a guy that you have to know where he's at at all times.
Class of 2026
Q: We saw last year the 2025 recruiting class kind of immediately make an impact as freshmen. Is there a sense that with this '26 class, something similar is there? And I'm not going to ask you to get into particulars, but just how excited are you to kind of see what that looks like when the lights come out?
DL: I'll say the growth has been really impressive. I think a lot of that comes from the leadership on our team. Guys helping prep people for what to expect. And I anticipate, similar to last year, we didn't necessarily know what that would look like. The guys were going to be able to help and impact, and I think that same thing could happen. I think somebody that might not impact this game on Saturday could be a guy that's impacting the game later on in the year. So excited about the growth of that group, and feel like we have some really talented players in there.
Defining "success"
Q: Aside from a win, what will define success for you guys this weekend?
DL: I mean, really, how we play our standard, our standard of play. You know, beginning-of-the-year games generally have a lot of penalties. Beginning-of-the-year games have missed tackles. I think looking for us to play to that standard of what's the technique necessary? Are we achieving that at a high level? Operation as the coaching staff is to make sure we're giving our players the best chance to have success, and then just the in-game mode, you know, of how we assess each situation, make adjustments throughout the game, and play that. And then obviously you'd love to come out of this game healthy, right, with the W. But it starts there, right? And regardless of the result of the game, we're going to be coaching something afterwards that we can get better at.
Jumping in the deep end of the pool
Q: You said earlier in camp, and I think Drew (Mehringer) and Chris (Hampton) have as well, that you like to throw as many concepts and schemes at this team early, and then kind of pare it down based on what you see works. Is that process over yet, or does that need to see in the first couple of games to kind of figure out what works in game-like situations before you pare it all down?
DL: Yeah, combination. Like we certainly narrow it down for a game like this, and this is where we have a focus. These are the things that we want to work. And then there's plays that plays and concepts on both sides of the ball that you maybe keep alive that you're not saying are going to be okay, the root of your game plan for this week. But it's something you're going to use throughout the season, and you might need it in the game because you don't know what could be different. So I think it's a combination of both, but really more focused on what we feel like we need to do to be successful against Boise State.
Making an NFL roster
Q: I know the focus is on Boise, but a lot of former players make the NFL rosters this week. What's it like when you see that news? And I guess could you just speak on this particular rookie class and them realizing their dreams this week?
DL: Yeah, just a ton of excitement, you know, for those guys, and then even tomorrow for the guys that didn't make it, right? That you know that they worked so hard, and it doesn't mean that their chapter's over. But the guys that you see get to make a team, you know, I hope that they're able to have the same success they had in the NFL that they had here. They made huge impacts here, and we're really excited for those guys.
Being back in full swing
Q: You talked at the start of fall camp just how much you enjoy it and what it means to be back. What do you enjoy the most about preparing? For the first week of the college football season, what do you enjoy the most about the first game of the season?
DL: I mean, the games, right, is what you enjoy the most. But I enjoy the practice. I enjoy the prep. Yeah, it's just good to be back and doing football. I can't, you know, there are times you wish you could do it year-round, right? But yeah, there's nothing quite like being in Autzen Stadium and that experience, seeing guys grow and execute on a field at a high level. You know, football's a unique sport. takes 11, right? It really takes a lot more than 11. It takes a team, right, to be successful on the field. So seeing that all come together, you've got a lot of moving parts, and to be able to operate at a high level, that's exciting.
Handling the excitement
Q: How do you handle the emotions of your team, the buildup of game day, and not getting too amped up early this week or first quarter, and handling the emotions that come with that?
DL: I think you try to paint every scenario for your team of things that you know are going to happen throughout the game, right? And we did some of that this morning, just talking through our team, like what are things that we know are going to happen in this game, right? What things should we expect? What are the reactions that we're going to have when those moments happen? And just try to give them the opportunity to visualize it, expose them to it. Whether that's something we've already done in practice, or it's just something we've done, you know, in our mind and played that out in advance. Okay, how are you going to react when that moment happens? You try to create as many of those as possible for your guys as you go in, and then just remind them when you're there. Hey, we talked about this. This was going to happen. How are we going to react now?
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Everything Dan Lanning said during Week 1 press conference
