Dan Lanning on facing his former team: 'Play the game, not the occasion'
It's been a lingering storyline, lurking since the day Dan Lanning was hired as Oregon head coach after helping Georgia to a national championship as defensive coordinator.
It just so happened that his first game as Ducks head coach would come against none other than the Bulldogs and his former boss Kirby Smart.
Anyone who has watched Lanning in his media dealings to this point could assume he would not be one to further amplify that storyline -- no matter how many times or ways he's asked about it.
During his Monday press conference at the start of this long-awaited game week, Lanning responded to multiple questions regarding the topic in the same manner
“Play the game, not the occasion," he said.
Lanning did admit that there will of course be some nerves as the team makes the trip to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, smack dab in the heart of Georgia Bulldogs country Saturday.
“That’s what’s so awesome about this game is the nerves -- the excitement around it,” Lanning said. “Heck yeah, I get nervous before a game. If you don’t, you’re lying.”
In the same response, Lanning gave everyone in the room a big laugh as he continued on about other facets of his pregame routine.
“I was a guy that has to piss like five or six times right before the game starts,” Lanning said. “And I’m still like that so I’m sure right before I take the field I’ll be in that urinal.”
Aside from the humor he provided, Lanning went into the noise surrounding this kickoff game and that the Ducks are slotted as 17-point underdogs by the betting services.
“We know what everyone thinks of our team and that’s okay by us,” Lanning said. “Nobody in Vegas is going to play in this game, right?”
Lanning also touched on his gratitude to Smart for all that he’s done in mentoring him as he coached under Smart for four seasons, including the last three as defensive coordinator.
“I would not be sitting here if it wasn’t for Kirby Smart,” Lanning said. “I’m forever grateful for him, that entire coaching staff and I will definitely always lean on him.”
In terms of the matchup, Lanning shared some praise for Georgia’s stacked tight end room and the difficulties of containing Brock Bowers, Arik Gilbert and Darnell Washington.
“It’s hard to find a group that has as much talent as their tight end room,” Lanning said. “You can call them tight ends, but the reality is that they’re as much of a matchup issue at wideout as they are at tight end.”
Lanning did mention that although he has a great deal of respect for that group, they cannot be Oregon’s sole focus going into the game. He said that that would be dangerous because that gives a different player from Georgia the opportunity to hurt the Ducks.
Some questions were asked about the NFL-level talent he used to coach at Georgia and he admitted that some former Bulldogs he coached have reached out.
“I don’t think a lot of them are cheering for me right now,” Lanning said. “And that’s okay. They know I’m cheering for them in every one of their games and I think they’ll be cheering for me in every game after this one.”
Throughout fall camp a lot has been made about the players and coaches that each side has lost in the offseason and how that will impact the winner of the game. Lanning reminded the media of the plays that actually make a difference in who wins on Saturday.
“It’s going to come down to takeaways, its going to come down to explosive plays — who can outhit, who can outhustle,” Lanning said. “That's what this game is really about.”