Dan Lanning says penalties are being addressed, talks Arizona matchup
In his weekly Monday night press conference, Ducks coach Dan Lanning addressed some of the positives and negatives of the 45-27 win over Stanford and also previewed this matchup this week at Arizona.
The most glaring negative would of course be Oregon's 14 penalties for 135 yards on Saturday night, even though the Ducks were able to withstand those mistakes thanks to 351 combined rushing yards and stellar defensive play throughout.
“We’re just hoping to have another standard of accountability when that happens in practice,” Lanning said. “We have officials at every single one of our practices and they throw flags just like they would in the game and we have to coach those moments.”
RELATED: Full transcript and video from Dan Lanning's Monday press conference
He also noted that the players who committed the penalties were held accountable during practice Monday, though he didn't share specifics.
Most notable of the penalties was the one that got Seven McGee ejected from the game late in the first half for shoving Stanford’s Tristan Sinclair after the play.
"I think everybody understands it's not what we want to be, to do. Everybody wants to protect their teammates and you operate in moments of passion, but there's certain ways you handle situations and certain ways you don't," Lanning said. "That's one we don't want for us -- there's no benefit there -- so, yeah, we absolutely addressed it and moving on."
The overwhelming positive, on the other hand, is that the Ducks were so good across the board that those self-inflected setbacks didn't prove to be any factor in the outcome.
“We can be a team that does things in a variety of ways and still have success,” Lanning said. “You can’t take away one thing and limit our ability to be successful.”
Oregon can ill-afford to commit those penalties against the Wildcats as quarterback Jayden de Laura has thrown for 879 yards in the last two games -- including a season-high 478 yards, 6 touchdowns and 0 interceptions against Colorado this week.
But it’s Arizona’s receiving corps that has caught coach Lanning’s attention early.
UTEP transfer Jacob Cowing has transitioned seamlessly to the FBS level, leading the team with 40 catches for 566 yards and 7 touchdowns in five games. Dorian Singer has 32 catches for 450 yards and a TE, and five-star freshman Tetairoa McMillan is emerging with 16 receptions for 290 yards and 3 TDs -- with 5 catches, 90 yards and a TD last weekend.
“I think this is maybe the most talented team we’ve played so far at wideout,” Lanning said. “... They have speed and really outside, they have size and they make contested catches. So if the quarterback can put it close they have a great chance of winning on 50-50 balls. For them, I don't know if you'd call them 50-50 balls. It’s more like 70/30 because they come down with it a lot of the time.”
A player that really stood out in the Ducks' win over Stanford was senior defensive back Bennett Williams who forced a fumble, had 7 tackles and 2 pass breakups.
“I think he understands what we're trying to do on the field from a schematic standpoint,” Lanning said. “We challenged him early this season to play with a brand of physicality.”
While traveling to Tucson this weekend, Oregon also has an opportunity to make an impact on the recruiting trail as well. Three of the Ducks' 2023 commits are from Arizona and the state is rich in prospects in general.
Lanning noted that the team will send out coaches to do home visits with recruits but was unsure if he’d be able to attend as well.
Some wonder about Lanning’s composure and how he’s handled his first five games as head coach, from suffering a blowout loss to Georgia in week one to now being 4-1 and 2-0 in conference play.
He’s handled every postgame press conference with the same professionalism and composure that fans see on the sidelines, and coming from the SEC, Lanning said that he hasn’t been surprised by anything in Pac-12 play yet.
He and his Ducks will look to continue their momentum this Saturday against the Wildcats.