Nothing came easy on a chilly afternoon at Autzen Stadium on Halloween. The Oregon Ducks started slow once again and appeared destined for a familiar defeat, trailing 20-6 in the first half. But the Ducks didn't quit and battled back for a 34-26 victory over No. 20 Northwestern.
Dylan Raiola, Dakorien Moore and freshman Brandon Smith turned in big performances on offense to help the Ducks rally in the second half. After parting ways with Drew Mehringer at the start of the week, the Oregon offense became more aggressive and took some chances, and those chances paid off. Raiola had perfect passes to Moore and Jamari Johnson for touchdowns, including a 75-yard strike to Moore in the fourth quarter.
Dan Lanning had his Ducks ready to compete against
a Chip Kelly-led offense that had been rolling. Northwestern found plenty of success early on with quarterback Aidan Chiles, who carved the Ducks' defense like a pumpkin in the first half. However, Oregon's pass rush came through late to bottle Chiles up and steal some momentum heading into the final month of the regular season.
While the win was impressive and showed plenty of signs of growth, Lanning knows what is coming next: Ohio State. Here is everything Lanning had to say after Oregon's explosion on offense and comeback win to upset Northwestern.
Opening Statement
Dan Lanning: "Obviously, an exciting game against a really good opponent. We thought Northwestern was really well-coached and does an unbelievable job coming in, and there's evidence of that today. By the way that they operate, their quarterback play is really special. It's a tough guy to get on the ground. They play tough in the run game on defense, and I kept telling our players it's really going to be about who can play harder for longer. I felt like that really showed up today. They had a lot of success on third down in the first half. We were able to stop some of their first- and second-down game plan. They obviously hit the big explosive where they had a better answer than us. I thought our coaches made really good adjustments offensively. I felt like the rhythm that we've been searching for showed up right in big moments.
"I thought our quarterback played with a lot of confidence and was able to execute. In big moments, a lot of guys had to step up that maybe didn't get as many reps in practice. That had to show up with Jordon going down and Dierre being a little bit banged up. You saw Brandon Smith, you saw Dink be able to show up and make some big plays for us in moments. So it's tough to win games like that. I said earlier in the week that you ask our players to do a lot of things that men can't do, and we're down by two scores a lot of that game. There are a lot of people that fold up in that moment. There was zero quit from our guys. They just kept feeling like it was one more play they had to go make, and we knew like it was every possession really mattered. The first half, they started with the ball. We knew in the second half we were going to start with the ball. It didn't start off the way we wanted to in the second half, but our defense went out there and put out the fire. Their field goal kicker was outstanding today, which made it a real challenge. He kicked the ball extremely well, but I thought our defense did a good job of not folding down in the red area and making sure we were able to keep them out of touchdown situations and force field goals.
"It's all about one more play. I thought we played the third downs much better in the second half. Their quarterback is hard; when you designate a hat to go spy him and take him away, then you lose a little bit of the edge pressure that you can generate. You can't really do both. Zach actually asked that question earlier in the week, and we had to have kind of multiple game plans for both. I thought we executed that much better in the second half, where we were able to take away some of their success on third down, but it's a little bit robbing Peter to pay Paul when you when you're playing that game. It was about kind of who guessed right, and they guessed right a little bit more in the first half. I thought we guessed right a little bit more in the second half. So overall, great performance. Our fans were awesome. Certainly feels great to be able to walk away with a victory, and it was tight the entire game. But I thought our guys just did a little bit more at the end."
Offensive Operation
Question: That rhythm you talked about offensively. It seemed like you got it going late in the first half when you were able to play with tempo. How much do you feel like that helped?
DL: "Not huddling up every play, I think, helped, certainly. I think it demanded a little bit more of our players, which they are certainly capable of. Like I said, this game was about letting it hang. You didn't see it, but we called a halfback pass. We called a reverse. We took a shot. We pushed the ball down the field. We threw a fade down there in the red area and said, 'Let's go let our guy win.' There was fourth-and-two down there at the 2-yard line, and you know, our mindset was, 'Hey, we're either going to punch this in, or they're going to have to drive 99 yards, bringing it back.' And obviously, we were able to punch it in, and that was a big, big, big play in that game. I thought Jay did a great job of having a feel for the game as well. That play he scored on there on fourth-and-two, that was one he felt like calling earlier in that sequence. He felt like calling that on second down, and we probably all talked him out of it. So great execution by him coming back and trusting his gut. But that's a whole offensive performance and a whole defensive performance. We talked about putting all three phases together, and in moments we were all really good today. So I felt like that's the closest we've been to a complete performance. That being said, there are a lot of things that we can still do a lot better. It's one of the hardest rushing attacks to really prepare for, and schematically, I've said it all week. It's like you're preparing for three different schemes, and I thought our guys adjusted and identified what scheme we were getting, kind of based on each look once we settled in there."
Stopping Aidan Chiles
Q: "Chiles was having a lot of success outside of the pocket, breaking plays down, and it felt like in the second half he was caged in a little bit more. Maybe that was by design on their part. But how did that play out from your guys' end, and were there adjustments to kind of try to keep him in the pocket once?
DL: "Yeah, there certainly was. I mean, we were trying to designate a guy to be responsible for him, and again, he can go either direction on a lot of those plays. So they have a big play action boot game, and it's tough when you're not bringing edges for him not to just be able to break out of the pocket when they're running those. So you like to bring edge pressure, but then there were moments where he's going opposite the pressure and able to take that way. There's a couple plays I think if we watch it, you're like, man, we had a guy there. We've got to go make that play. What I'm proud of is those guys. Our guys were aggressive in those moments, but again, it's who's going to plaster on a wide receiver just a little bit longer because he does a great job of keeping his eyes downfield. He did a great job being able to execute with his legs in the game. I mean, I know he gained over 100 yards, so we have a lot to improve there ultimately. But we were also able to kind of settle in there in the second half and have a better plan for it."
Brandon Smith
Q: "Can you speak to Brandon's ability to step in in a moment when both Jordon and Dierre go down? It felt like his physicality maybe changed the game a little bit for you guys offensively.
DL: "Yeah, I mean, one, that's a really physical team that we just played, right? A couple of our guys got banged up just within the play of the game, and also don't want to not acknowledge, I shared a moment there where I think everybody in the stadium felt something similar when you saw Jon Jon Stevens go down for them, and you're sitting there. I pray this kid's okay. I hope he's going to be all right, and to see him get up and go walk off. But that's just evidence of how physical this game was, right? And what's tough is we talk about a guy like Brandon or Dink, those guys that are getting those third and fourth reps. There's a lot of reps that they executed today that they didn't get in practice. They had to get the mental rep and be able to execute the mental rep. They did an outstanding job of that. Our coaches did a good job of coaching on the sideline to make them be able to have a performance like that. Every big run is going to involve somebody straining a little bit harder for a big block. I saw a lot of those runs today where our wideouts were down the field battling to get another block. Our offensive linemen were chasing the ball, and that was a real positive."
Dakorien Moore
Q: In the NFL, it's the second-year leap. How have you seen Dakorien Moore change and grow on the field, but also grow off the field in his maturity?
DL: "Dakorien has grown into a guy that really wants to be coached, and it's really fun and refreshing to go out there. He wants the pressure; he wants it on his back. I know he wishes to have that fumble back. I know he's going to be really critical of himself, and I'm going to challenge our coaches that we can coach that better; our ball security and what that looks like. But you see in big moments that guy's straining really hard when he practices the way he's capable of. He can have really big games and obviously had a big game today and was certainly a difference maker for us. Did a great job fielding the ball in return. I don't think people realize how hard that is when you've got a lot of guys running down in your face. Was able to change things for us in the return game. Was able to handle it, get the ball, obviously in some tough moments, and catching the ball. I thought our wideouts attacked the ball extremely well today. I think when I turn on the film, I see those guys showing up in the run game and how they blocked and how they strain. So really proud of his growth. You know, I know he only wants to get better, and I think there's a lot of guys in that category on our team."
Playing Aggressive
Q: You talked all week about being more aggressive, taking more risks on offense, sort of getting back to that identity. How do you feel like that played out in the game and led to some of the success that you had?
DL: "We kind of had a checklist on our mind of like, 'OK, is this available? Is this available? Is this available?' I think again, credit to Northwestern. You go out there, and you're like, 'I thought we were gonna have this. It's not really there. Cross it off, right?' I'm glad we had a long list of things that we felt like were available in this game. I think that just prepares you for a lot of moments, and you wonder when they're gonna get to show up. You don't want to just take a risk to take a risk. You don't just kick an onside kick because you think, 'Alright, maybe we get it, maybe we don't.' I thought we did a good job of being able to take risks that were there and available, and then understand the consequences if it doesn't work. Like I said earlier this week, you don't always get to control outcomes, but you can help dictate the environment and influence outcomes. I think the fourth down there, down in the red area, is a great example of that. 'Hey, yeah, we could kick the field goal tied up right here, or we could punch this in and go up four,' and the guys did a great job in that moment."
Jordon Davison
Q: Do you have any early update on Jordon and the injury he suffered from the first half?
DL: "Yeah, leg injury. Don't know completely exactly where that's at yet. You know, he's a tough guy. I know that if he was able to get back out there, he would have been out there for us. So we'll continue to evaluate, and I'm sure I'll be able to give you guys an update. Probably not sooner, right? But when that Wednesday update comes up, I'll probably give you an update. You know, around there."
Messiah Hampton
Q: Dan, obviously, the news about Messiah yesterday — what information changed for you from when he was expected to play to when he was listed as out? Was it simply the arrest that changed for you, or was there new information that you gained?
DL: "I can't pretend to know everything about the situation. You have to operate with the information that you have and what you know. And again, we take all those matters really seriously, but have to evaluate what we have. There were some changes in information that were available."
Comeback
Q: You guys are down 20-6 with just about two minutes to go in the first half. There, just considering how this season has gone and in the way that those first 18 minutes or so went, why didn't they quit?
DL: "They're not quitters. We've got winners in that locker room, and again, that's not always reflected in the scoreboard. That's not always reflected in reality. But you got guys. It's reflected in the way they practice Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. It's reflected in us being really honest with each other and living in reality. We always felt like, 'Hey, if we have a little bit more time on that clock, we got an opportunity to keep finishing.' I just thought the energy on the sideline was outstanding today, even in moments when it didn't look the most positive. I thought our guys really handled that extremely well."
Dylan Raiola
Q: Just talk about Dylan's confidence as the game continued and how he was able to make passes that at first he maybe didn't believe in himself to do, and how the coaching staff as well allowed him to make those passes.
DL: "He is a guy that feeds off of his confidence, right? I think the piece coming away from this is going to be like, 'Dylan, hey, remember what it felt like a week ago or two weeks ago?' He's going to be one of those guys that lives in reality as well. But he made some big-time throws today. Put balls in spots where our guys could get it and nobody else could. I thought he played really well with some of the moments, and still there's going to be some stuff for improvement. We put the ball in jeopardy early there in the game, with getting on the ground. We've got to have better ball security as a team that's continuing to show up for us. Obviously, it hurt us at one point today, but we were also able to get back on it. But there were some outstanding moments for him, and he is a guy that feeds off that confidence when he gets better and better. He continues to improve."
Quick Strike
Q: You guys took the lead for the first time in the first fourth quarter, and they went down and scored. First play you guys ran was that 75-yard throw to Dakorien. Was that a shot that you guys felt like was just confidence and the decision?
DL: "It was one that we felt like coming to the game that might be there. Their boundary safety does a really good job fitting into the run game, and he was showing up in run after run where it's really a hat that you don't necessarily have accounted for in the run. So we felt like if he's that aggressive to the run, that we can run something similar and create a play-action pass off of and replace in that zone. It was just a great read that we missed at times this year, where it's like, 'No, we're throwing for the shot, and if the shot's taken away, then we got an over coming back that's going to be open.' I thought it was a great job. Those guys trusting each other, great protection up front to allow us to execute that play."
Smith's Second Half
Q: You spoke about Brandon Smith stepping up when you know the other running backs went down with injuries. Just talk about the spark that he provided to you guys in that second half, and just how he's been able to capitalize on his opportunities as the season has gone on.
DL: "I mean, that's all you want as a coach is a guy that is not necessarily begging for their opportunity, but ready when their opportunity comes. I think Brandon's been that for us throughout this year. His role will continue to grow with this team. He's obviously very capable, and I'm excited about what he was able to accomplish today. But that again goes to preparation. That goes to coach Samples having him ready when his moment got called, and he took advantage of it today."
Offensive Line
Q: It feels like you finally got some continuity on the offensive line. How much does that help? And maybe particularly on a play like the fourth-down touchdown run.
DL: "Yeah, I think certainly we've got a group that we feel confident rolling with. I think there's still some moments; we had a chance to almost put the game away there at the end, and we didn't get the stops that we needed or get the yards that we needed there. Kind of that, it became a situation where you're not completely backed up, but it became backed up because of the way we played a couple of those sequence plays. We've got to evaluate what that looked like, but overall, I thought they did a good job."
Dakorien Moore's Injury
Q: Wanted to check on Dakorien's status since he left late in the game.
DL: "It seems like Dakorien's gonna be good. He just took a really big shot, you know, on the return, and a little bit of pain. But I think that's not gonna be anything that impacts the future for him. He told me while he was lying down on the ground, 'I'm ready for the next play.' I'm like, 'Well, you've got to come out for one, right? At least.' So I think he's gonna be in good shape."
Final Play
Q: Could you speak to the play at the end that sealed the first down? Kind of a no, no, no, yes play for a coach. But what was going through your mind?
DL: "You called it. We said, 'Hey, this is a lot of times in four minutes, people play loose and/or really play tight, right? You're like, 'OK, we can keep the clock running, make them use their timeouts if we run the ball.' And we said, 'OK, we're going to call naked here. It's either it's wide open, and you're hitting the guy right with the ball, or you're running.' So he made a big play, but I don't know if that was wide open. So a little bit different than what we thought we'd play out like, but players make plays, right? We'll coach the moment. (Raiola) told me as soon as he came off the field, he's like, 'I owe you one.' I know that was a little bit careless, but don't you love that a little bit as a coach, right?"
Moment of Change
Q: You talked all week about getting back to being aggressive. Was there a moment maybe during the Illinois game or looking back on it, where that clicked for you?
DL: "There's a couple fourth downs in that game that I normally would have gone, and I'm not talking about like fourth-and-seven. I'm talking about like fourth-and-one where we've been aggressive in the past that we weren't. Again, we were playing not to lose and playing small ball, and that's not what we do. We let it hang, and that's what I heard our players saying on the sideline all day. We're not playing small ball. Let's go, right?
Chip Kelly
Q: Dan, on the 64-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, the three-stack formation that Chip threw at you guys. What is that formation, and just how do you defend something like that, or how are you supposed to defend something like that? When had you seen that before?
DL: "Great wrinkle by them. Hadn't seen that exactly. That has existed in its history, but if you could chase ghosts, for a long time of trying to find plays, and as you make up rules, there's certain coverages that you're saying, 'OK, we're going to carry right with the nickel position, or we're going to drop this pass. We have a coverage that's sound and would have been good against it.' The rules that we carried in's fault. That's one that we could have been more sound in and how we did it. But they have so much variety that they carry off of that formation, and again, that's one that they haven't necessarily lived in a bunch. So you don't get to spend a lot of time on it, and you know, coaching defensive football, sometimes you're chasing ghosts. They found a great wrinkle. They showed us that formation in the first series, right? But didn't necessarily show us that play. They probably saw something that they liked and knew that they could take advantage of. We made a quick adjustment and knew that if they ran it again, we would have had it dialed up. But that's part of what makes Chip and those guys so good: they're able to find moments like that."
Ohio State
Q: Big win today. How do you take momentum like this and bring it to an opponent like Ohio State?
DL: "Yeah, certainly going to be a great challenge. Obviously, a great team. Coach Day does an unbelievable job. I think it goes back to all the things that we focused on this week. Let's also acknowledge that there were moments in that game where we could have not been successful in that game. So we can't really focus on outcomes. Let's focus on things that can make us better. There's gonna be some moments that we can watch in this game and say, 'OK, we could have been even better than we were today. You don't get an opportunity to make mistakes like that against great teams like Ohio State. So we're gonna have to have our best. We're gonna enjoy this win here for 24 hours, right? Then when we hit the ground running tomorrow, as a staff, we'll be ready to go attack the next team."
Highs and Lows
Q: Coach, you talk about the highs and lows of this team and challenging your players about not getting in, getting into those highs and lows. How have they responded to that challenge that you gave them?
DL: "Well, they responded today? We'll see how they respond the next time."
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Everything Dan Lanning said after Oregon's comeback win vs. Northwestern
