EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon head coach Dan Lanning opened his weekly press conference Monday night with a somber tone, acknowledging the passing of football legend John Robinson.

"I want to start off by acknowledging a legend passing in the game, and it's always sad to see somebody leave who meant so much to our sport," Lanning said. "John Robinson, I want to recognize him. Obviously, a legendary coach, but he got his start right here with the Ducks. I'm thinking about him and his family, and our entire organization is as well."

With that, Lanning turned his focus to the upcoming weekend, sharing excitement not only for the Ducks’ football team but also for the Oregon basketball teams, which have started their seasons strongly. As Oregon readies to face Wisconsin, Lanning reflected on the lessons from the previous game and emphasized areas for improvement.

"Let's talk about Wisconsin," Lanning said. "Exciting weekend for the Ducks. You know, basketball off to a hot start. Did really well this weekend. And obviously our football game, we learned a lot of great things from that, but let's talk about Wisconsin."

Respect for Fickell

Asked about Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell, Lanning was full of praise, noting Fickell's ability to build strong teams. "Yeah, I think Coach Fickell's a great coach. You know, we actually got to play against him when I was at Georgia, and he was at Cincinnati in the Peach Bowl, and he had a really, really good team there. I think he's proven that he can develop teams. We came down to a field goal barely to be able to win it, and it speaks just to the kind of culture he can create, and you see pieces of that coming together for him now at Wisconsin."

Locke's Progression

Wisconsin quarterback Braedyn Locke has also caught Lanning's eye. "Yeah, has the ability, you know, to make you hurt. I mean, he's a good football player, and, you know, it's all based on opportunities and what that looks like, but certainly has that ability."

Wisconsin's Offensive Line

Lanning gave Wisconsin’s offensive line due credit as well. "Yeah, I mean, they're big, right? It's one of those ones where you look at them and you say, okay, that's what an offensive line is supposed to look like. They have great size up front. I think they have the ability to move you, you know, but when you look at it, you're like, okay, that's what a Wisconsin offensive line looks like."

Avoiding Wisconsin's Star Corner

The Ducks will also have to deal with Wisconsin’s standout cornerback Ricardo Hallman, who has proven to be a significant obstacle for opposing offenses. "Yeah, I think that's probably smart, right? The football coach not to throw to a guy that's going to make a lot of plays on the ball. I mean, how many picks did he have last year? A guy had seven picks last year, and why not throw the other direction? That being said, I think it's much more challenging for a defense whenever you can work the entire field, but there's a reason people aren't testing him, because he's a talented player."

Addressing Penalties

Penalties were a major topic of conversation, particularly after some costly ones in the last game. Lanning was candid in his assessment. "They responded well, and yes, some of them were warranted for sure. I wouldn't say that there was like egregious ones that were missed. There's reasons, so we can improve in our technique. There's execution that we can do better, and again, on Wednesday last week, we had some in practice, so that usually shows up in the game. So we have to do a good job of addressing it and making sure we eliminate them."

Wisconsin's Secondary and Running Game

Lanning also highlighted the challenges presented by Wisconsin’s safeties. "They do a great job disguising coverage, and they have some good mix-ups there. But, yeah, I think this is one of the more talented secondaries that we've seen. I think they play really well together, understand how to handle adjustments, which I think is always important in football. You see that show up with them."

When asked about Wisconsin’s running back Tawee Walker, Lanning admired his toughness and effort. "I don't know if he reminds me of anyone but, I mean, he just plays a level of toughness and effort. I mean, I think those things show up on film, you know, how hard you play I think speaks to, you know, how much you appreciate your teammates, and you know, that certainly shows up with those guys."

Offensive Line Competition and Fundamentals

Lanning addressed the competition among Oregon’s own right guards, stating that both had their strengths and weaknesses but played winning football. "I think they both had different strengths and weaknesses within the game. Both, I think, played winning football and where you have the ability to have success with them on the field, which is great to see them prove that. And I think both earned the opportunity to be able to see more time."

Fundamentals remain a focal point for the Ducks, especially at this stage of the season. "Yeah, I won't get into like great specifics, but I think just technique in this part of the season, a lot of places you'll trim down and eliminate, you know, individual time to work on fundamentals and technique. And the reality is this is when it matters the most. Right. So we have to be fundamentally, you know, sound in scheme, but just as important how you disengage off a block matters, how you play slot cover matters, right? How you tackle matters. And I think some of those things showed up for us that we could do better."

Special Teams and Game Planning

Special teams also came under scrutiny, particularly a play involving Daylon where the punter dropped the ball. Lanning explained the rules regarding punter protection within the pocket and acknowledged that better emphasis was needed in coaching that situation. "Yeah, I mean, when they're in the pocket, which is the question there, is like is he in the pocket, they're protected, right? So we've actually shown a clip before a couple years ago, Missouri-Auburn play, the ball snapped over the head. The ball's picked up and kicked, and the guy's still within the tackle box, so he's protected, and the guy hits the punter. It's a very similar situation we've shown. It's one of those ones that you talk about, but I don't know that we emphasize that enough as coaches, but ultimately you say go for the ball in that situation.

You know, Daylen's close enough to make a play. You know, coaching point is to go for the ball. Could understand his confusion in that moment. If he's just a foot left, you know, we're probably not even talking about it, and it looks like a completely different play."

Regarding directional kickoffs, Lanning explained the strategy while admitting the inconsistencies. "I think the one we kicked out of bounds was a deep left kick. And when we kicked it deep right, it was a touchback. But there's also been, I believe, four or six out-of-bounds on the season. And which ones were deep right that were out of bounds. So we kick it deep left every time. And then a couple of them went out of bounds left. And then we kick it deep right and we got a touchback. So don't kick it out of bounds. We're not telling them to kick it out of bounds. We're telling them to kick it deep left. Like they're supposed to be in the same location every time. They're not kicking it to that location."

Injury Updates and the Road Ahead

On the injury front, Lanning provided updates on Tez Johnson, Jordan Burch, and Jordan James, indicating they are being evaluated and could be available for the upcoming game. "Continue to evaluate where he's at, you know, for us, but doing well," Lanning said about Tez Johnson. On Burch and James, he added, "Yeah, continue to evaluate, get those guys back. You know, right now, early in the week, we'll take a lot off of them and then see, you know, how they feel. But, you know, I anticipate that we should be able to see them."

As the Ducks near the end of an eight-week stretch of games, Lanning said the team remains focused and energized. "Yeah, I'm not done, right? Our guys are enjoying the work. We're still having a lot of fun coming up here every single day to get better and find ways to improve. And the challenge of this new conference and the travel and some of the teams we got to play has been a lot of fun for us. But we got more work to do."

No Hints on Game Plan

Asked whether there were any weaknesses in Wisconsin that Oregon could exploit, Lanning playfully dodged the question. "You want me to tell you our game plan is what you're saying? Like, hey, this is how we're going to attack them."

The Ducks will look to build on the lessons learned and address the areas highlighted by Lanning as they prepare for a tough matchup against Wisconsin. With a renewed focus on fundamentals and discipline, Oregon aims to finish the season strong and continue their pursuit of a conference title.