What Dan Lanning said about Texas Tech ahead of Oregon’s pivotal Week 2 matchup

Dan Lanning met with reporters Monday evening for his weekly press conference ahead of Oregon’s toughest non-conference test of the season.

The No. 15 Ducks (1-0) will square off with Texas Tech (0-1) in Lubbock after notching a blowout victory over Portland State in Week 1. The Red Raiders, meanwhile, are coming off a 35-33 upset loss to Wyoming.

Lanning was not willing to discuss the health status of Oregon players who did not suit up for the season opener. When asked about linebacker Jestin Jacobs, safety Evan Williams, and Nishad Strother, he offered a vague update.

“Yeah, I’m not going to talk about any injured guys,” Lanning responded. “Whoever we’re going to roll in there with at Texas Tech, we’re going to roll in there with. Feel good about progress with those guys, though.”

However, Lanning talked in-depth about his team’s looming matchup with Joey McGuire’s Texas Tech squad.

Here’s a rundown of everything he said regarding the Red Raiders.

Opening Statement

Lanning: “Really excited about this this week’s opponent. They’ve proven to be one of the best teams at home. Obviously going to be a really unique environment. They’re really talented on offense and really on both sides of the ball. They’ve got a really good front and interior. They can create some issues; they have some wide receivers on the edge that can create some issues and a quarterback that operates really well in their system. They play well at home. So it’s gonna be a fun environment for our guys, I think they’re amped up to travel and go play a good team.”

What can Oregon’s running backs accomplish against Texas Tech?

Lanning: “I think we have a really talented running back room and I think our O-line did a good job of moving bodies up front. I think we saw a lot of things that we can do even better. And I know that people might not see that from the outside looking in, but we’re about to play a real opponent. (Portland State) is going to be a good team in their league, but they’re not going to be the level of team that we’re going to play in the future. Like I just mentioned, Texas Tech has a really good interior on their defensive line, they have good edges, you know, so that’s going to be a good challenge for us moving bodies up front. Our backs are certainly talented enough to do it, but we have to go in there with the right approach.”

How will you prepare for the environment in Lubbock?

Lanning: “Yeah, well I mean, there’s not a lot I can do for the heat. I’m not going to make the guys wear parkas out to practice or anything like that. At the end of the day, good. Right? Good. We want a tough environment; we want to get to a place that’s going to be challenging like that — that’s what’s exciting about college football when you get to a place where you know the fans are going to care. At 6 p.m. I think they’re gonna be pretty amped up. That’s exciting for us. That’s the kind of environment we want to play in. Beyond us preparing, that’s all we’ve got to do.”

What are your thoughts on your strategy recruiting in Texas?

Lanning: “Yeah, we recruit Texas because Texas has some of the best players in the nation, right? And wherever the best players are, that’s where we’re going to recruit. It really doesn’t have anything to do with what games that we’re going to play, and who we’re going to be playing. But the fact that there are direct flights from Texas here to Eugene, the fact that there are great players in the state of Texas, we’re always going to recruit where there’s great players. So that’s been the biggest piece there.”

What challenges does Texas Tech provide on offense and defense?

Lanning: “Yeah, their tempo. I mean, on offense, they’re a team that snaps as many snaps as anybody in college football. You’re gonna see, they’re going to be able to go really fast, really quick. They line up and a lot more stacks and bunches than any other team in college football. So you’ve got to be sound in how you handle those rules. I think they had the most snaps in bunch alignments this past week of any other team in college football. Offensively, that’s a big piece of it. They really have the ability to kind of do two different offenses where they are wide open, and then they get a tight end in the core and can create some run game issues and some pass game issues. They do a great job of attacking down the field vertically, but they set that up with the way that they do screens and connect quick passes for quick gains.

“Defensively, they’re a pressure team. You’re gonna see a lot of pressures from them. They find ways to pressure in unique ways. They do a good job of running to the ball. They play with great effort; effort shows up all over the film on special teams. That’s somewhere where they’ve been really good. They’re aggressive in the return game. They’re going to try to bring the ball out and they’ve been able to create some explosive returns doing that.”

How much does your staff’s connections to Texas Tech help with preparation?

Lanning: “I think there’s a comfortability basically with both schemes; them doing what they do and understanding what they do. I don’t think there’s a lot of secrets in college football. I mean, the film is the resume and that’s what you’re trying to build off of. Every team changes. Even though, like, (Texas Tech DC Tim DeRuyter) for example, was here before, there are things that he’s doing differently now than when he did when he was here. So I expect to see something different. I think they kept a lot of their cards up their sleeve in game one and I think we’ll see some unique pieces They are really challenging from all the different sets they can present on offense, we have to be able to just really well on that. And then defensively, like I said, they can bring pressure really from anywhere so we have to be prepared for that.”

What stands out about Tyler Shough?

Lanning: “Well, I mean, first of all, he’s a winner right? The games he started last year they won. I think that he’s had a lot of success in that system. They’ve learned how to use his talents well and he probably doesn’t get enough credit as a runner. He can actually take off and make some plays with his feet. He did that some this past game for them. He really distributes the ball well and understands their system. This system requires the quarterbacks to get him into the right checks, make the adjustments, and communicate with wideouts and the backs on what’s actually going on. He does a good job of that.”

Texas Tech has a lot of size at receiver, what challenges does that present?

Lanning: “They’re certainly a bigger unit. They’re some of the best when it comes to catching the ball with a guy near or on you. They do a good job of attacking the ball. You see that a lot on their film. I think that’s going to be quite the challenge for us. The variety of ways they get the ball to their wideouts is unique.”

What threat does WR Jerand Bradley pose, and how do you prepare for their 6-foot-9 tight end in practice?

Lanning: “It’s hard to simulate in practice; we don’t have anyone who’s 6-foot-9 and can play tight end. But ultimately, Bradley has a huge catch radius. He catches the ball well in traffic. They do a good job of getting those guys open where you don’t have bodies on bodies. We have to go work on contested catches right now in practice. We have to go get opportunities to go make plays on the ball in practice. So we’re certainly trying to simulate that in practice this week.”

Tyler Shough has some passes batted down last week, are you emphasizing that in practice this week?

Lanning: “I think, in general, when you can impact the quarterback, everyone thinks of sacks immediately. But that’s not the only way you can impact in the passing game. It’s a lot easier to cover when you don’t have to because the ball got batted. So, as much as we can get our hands up, it certainly matters. Especially with a team that gets the ball out quick, which these guys do. So that’s something we’ll definitely emphasize.”

Why is it significant that Texas Tech ran so many bunch sets, and what kind of stress that put on you guys?

Lanning: “It just requires communication. You have to figure out how you’re going to match patterns when they come out. They don’t always come out the same direction. They do a good job of changing that up. Luckily for us, I think we do a good job of matching it. If we do a good job of matching it this week, and having some variables you can play to those sets, if you don’t always play them the same way, I think that gives you a chance to be successful.”

Joey McGuire was really critical of his team’s defense, particularly about rush lanes, what do you want to get across to your offensive line about that?

Lanning: “We’re just going to focus on us. We know they have skill and talent at those positions, up front, in particular. So we’re going to continue to focus on what we can do to handle that well. We’re not going to be at their practice, we’re not going to see what they’re doing, I’m sure they’ll want to dial it up the pressure — just like we will. They want to get better up front, and so will we. So that’s going to be our focus is us.”

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