Dan Lanning harps on Oregon performing in 3rd quarter with 28-10 halftime lead over Michigan

After racing away from Michigan for a 28-10 halftime lead behind a 21-point second quarter, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning was still unsatisfied. He called on his team to perform better in the third quarter.

And when CBS sideline reporter Jenny Dell posed a question to Lanning about the third quarter, suggesting he’d called it Oregon’s “Achilles heel,” he brushed that notion off. He framed the 15 minutes out of halftime as an opportunity, instead.

“I didn’t say that — third quarter’s our opportunity, right?” Lanning said. “Our opportunity to come out here and play better football. We talk about the middle eight all the time, it’s our chance to go out there and perform.”

But with 28 points in the first half and the only Michigan touchdown coming via a short field on a muffed punt, Lanning didn’t have a ton to be upset about, even if he’s going to push his team for better in the third quarter.

“Really one drive where they had some tough field position and they’ve driven the ball, really proud of the way they’ve performed so far,” Lanning said.

Oregon also nearly made it 28-10 a bit sooner than it did, via a highlight-reel Evan Stewart touchdown catch that was ultimately called back for an illegal man downfield penalty.

While that play didn’t stand, Lanning suggested Stewart will have more opportunities in the second half to nab his second touchdown of the day.

“He does that in practice all the time, right? Not surprised one bit. He’s going to get another opportunity in the second half to have another one of those,” Lanning said.

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