In the midst of Oregon’s first bye week head coach Dan Lanning spoke to the media after Tuesday’s practice and emphasized from his opening statement that “each player on our team has a personal improvement plan.”

Those improvement plans will be ever-important with an extra week of preparation before No. 12 Oregon (5-1) plays host to No. 11 UCLA (6-0) next week.

“This week we can be really intentional. We can say, ‘This is the one thing that I really want to be better at the end of the week,’” Lanning said. “Then that's going to carry over to game week.”

One aspect in which Lanning felt his team played well was in pass defense and in particular the way defensive backs like Trikweze Bridges and Christian Gonzalez responded after allowing a deep shot to Arizona’s speedy receivers.

“Our guys played in a lot of ways our most complete game,” Lanning said. “We knew they were going to have a good passing game and I thought our guys responded.”

Some fans might wonder how far ahead coaches look, as far as opponents go, in a bye week because the usual philosophy is focusing on the immediate opponent, but Lanning gave some insight into his mindset of planning for future foes.

“We have teach periods in every single one of our practices when we’re focusing on future opponents and things that show up for us. But it is a balance,” Lanning said.

As the recruiting season heats up, UCLA and other future matchups weren’t the only things on his mind.

“I’ll say this next game I’m hoping to have some really great players on our campus,” Lanning said. “That environment, I think for our fans and for recruits is going to be really special.”

That environment might be a little extra special if ESPN’s College GameDay books a trip to Eugene for October 22.

The popular show hasn't set up on Oregon’s campus since 2018 and the energy that the show brings to every school it visits is undeniable.

“I think it’s going to be a special game regardless of who comes or doesn’t come. This is going to be an elite atmosphere,” Lanning said.

Fans might’ve already seen the Breast Cancer Awareness uniform release from Oregon’s social media accounts, and those uniforms hit home for Oregon’s head coach.

“Obviously this one has a special place for me,” Lanning said. “My wife is a cancer survivor and I think it's always special when you have a stage and you can do it for a special cause.”