As Oregon coach Dan Lanning started his Monday evening press conference, before taking any questions or talking football, he immediately addressed the vulgar comments that fans in the crowd directed at BYU this past Saturday in Autzen Stadium.
The news made national headlines and got attention from Utah’s Governor, Spencer Cox, who referred to the chants referencing the Mormon religion as “religious bigotry.”
"Obviously, like many of you, I was really frustrated and disgusted to hear some of the things that were said during the game," Lanning said. "I got the opportunity to reach out to coach [Kalani Sitake], I know our athletic director Rob [Mullens] got to reach out to Tom [Holmoe], their AD there at BYU and express our frustration and also apologize for the behavior of a few that really puts a cloud over a great group and a really fun situation for our players and our fans on Saturday.
"There's no room for that in our stadium, and anybody's that going to partake in that doesn't need to be in our stadium."
Lanning went on to discuss the practice week ahead and all that his No. 15-ranked Ducks (2-1) need to do to prepare for a formidable opponent in Washington State (3-0), which beat a ranked Wisconsin team on the road in Week 2.
After two wins at home, the Ducks go on the road to Pullman, Wash., for their Pac-12 opener.
“They do some unique things offensively and defensively,” Lanning said. “Coach [Jake] Dickert's done a great job up there of being aggressive on defense and creating some negative plays. They've had some really explosive plays on offense. They have a quarterback that can extend plays and does a good job of getting the ball downfield but is also dangerous with his legs. So they certainly present some unique challenges. And as we all know, traveling to Pullman, that’s a unique environment, a special environment to play games."
The Ducks are 1-2 in their last three trips to Washington State's Martin Stadium, and it is a notorious venue for the unexpected to take place.
The Ducks will try to keep their newfound offensive momentum going Saturday after scoring 111 points over the last two weeks in wins over Eastern Washington and then-No. 12-ranked BYU, but they’ll be facing a Washington State defense that is giving up just 12.7 points per game, which ranks 19th nationally.
“Their defensive line is very aggressive,” Lanning said. “I think staying on schedule is important for us. We got to find those opportunities to make sure we don't, you know, start off and be sitting there at second-and-12.”
On that defense is former wide receiver turned linebacker Daiyan Henley, who has amassed 30 tackles, 4 sacks and an interception in three games as a Cougar. He was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week after a 3-sack game against Colorado State. Henley was a coveted transfer from Nevada this past offseason who chose Washington State over USC.
He’ll go up against the Ducks offense that hasn’t allowed a sack all season, so that’ll be a storyline to watch.
“Athletic ability, motor, versatility. I think you see all of that and they use [Henley] in a lot of unique ways,” Lanning said. “I’ll say this. We don’t want to give up sacks, but on the same note, our goal isn’t ‘how many sacks did we give up in a game?’ Our goal is to win.”
Lanning also touched on what it’s like to go against an Air Raid offense since he’s faced former Washington State head coach Mike Leach’s Mississippi State team when Lanning was at Georgia.
Dickert has coined the moniker “Cougar Raid” for this offense since it has some facets (like passing to a tight end) that are different from previous iterations of the WSU Air Raid that Leach brought there.
Quarterback Cameron Ward has passed for 727 yards, 8 touchdowns and 3 interceptions in his first year with the program, after transferring in from FCS-level Incarnate Word, following his head coach there, Eric Morris, who is now the Cougars' offensive coordinator.
“When I play teams like this in the past, you kind of carry one defense and that’s what you have to play,” Lanning said. “They do a lot more, but they still can create some of those issues with the Air Raid.”
Lanning also gave some injury updates on RB Byron Cardwell and LB Justin Flowe, who both did not play against BYU.
“They were both able to practice today. I wouldn’t sit here and say that they’re both 100%,” Lanning said. “But I’m hopeful that both of them can help us this next weekend.”
