Dan Lanning previews Ducks' matchup with No. 12 BYU
For the second time in three weeks, Oregon is gearing up to face a top-15 national opponent -- this time No. 12-ranked BYU, which visits the No. 25 Ducks on Saturday.
The last time these schools faced off in Autzen Stadium was in 1990 when the Ducks upset the then fourth-ranked Cougars in historic fashion, 32-16.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning is hoping to make history this week as well with his first win over a ranked opponent as a head coach.
That will mean slowing down a good Cougars team that steamrolled South Florida, 50-21, in its opener and then beat a ranked Baylor team, 26-20, in overtime last weekend. BYU is led by junior quarterback Jaren Hall, who passed for 2,583 yards, 20 TDs and 5 INTs in 10 games last season and has thrown for exactly 261 yards in each of the first two games this fall.
Even with his top two receivers -- Gunner Romney and Puka Nacua -- out last game, Hall found success feeding Chase Roberts, who tallied a career-high 8 catches for 122 yards and a touchdown.
“Hall does a great good job of distributing the ball, understands their offense but also has the ability to run,” Lanning said. “I’d say he's a quarterback that looks to throw it and keeps his eyes downfield.”
Another thing about this BYU team is its physicality and continuity since it returned 18 of 22 starters from a season ago, and Lanning noted that it certainly stood out on film.
Junior linebacker Max Tooley leads the Cougars with 18 tackles and an interception while sophomore linebacker Ben Bywater has 16 tackles and a sack.
“We highlighted a couple of those guys today in our scouting report,” Lanning said. “They have NFL talent on their roster so they have a good team and play really well.”
Perhaps more impressive than the physicality is the Cougars' collecdtive pass defense, which has allowed just 309 yards through the air over the first two games and only 137 against Baylor in Week 2.
“They present different looks and kind of let their core play the front,” Lanning said. “They have really talented corners and a good secondary.”
Lanning also gave an injury update on Ryan Walk, who didn’t play against Eastern Washington, and Seven McGee, who left the game in the second half with an apparent leg injury.
“Ryan is one that we probably could’ve pushed to get out there,” Lanning said. “For Seven, I think the same thing knowing we have some other guys that can help us but Seven will be ready to go.”
Lanning also talked about his first experience coaching a real game in front of the Autzen faithful and the impact the crowd can have, especially in a game of this caliber.
“We have really passionate fans and the fans are what make that thing tick,” Lanning said. “With the game that we have coming up and the atmosphere that we can create. That can be a big piece of our success.”
Autzen should be rocking come Saturday at 12:30 p.m. PT.