Like a seasoned vet, Oregon football coach Dan Lanning approached his first availability at Big Ten media days at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis Thursday with a nearly nine-minute opening statement.
The third-year head coach talked about culture, the three players — quarterback Dillon Gabriel, tight end Terrance Ferguson and linebacker Jeffrey Bassa — that were attending the event with him and other general talking points coaches typically discuss at conference media events. It certainly didn’t look like his first time at the Big Ten podium.
Days after a massive inflatable duck adorned in green and yellow was seen floating the White River in downtown Indianapolis, Lanning talked about what sets Oregon apart from all of its new conference rivals from coast-to-coast.
“I hope we get to travel that duck to all of our away games this year,” Lanning said. “We’re mighty different when it comes to the jerseys we get to wear or the facilities we’re in. We’re innovative. We’ve always been on the cutting edge of everything we do. We certainly positioned ourselves to be on the cutting edge, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to compete in the Big Ten.”
Lanning used the phrase “mighty different” several times throughout his many availabilities on Thursday. And Oregon is mighty different from its peers even externally to preseason prognosticators who have picked the Ducks to finish among the nation’s best by the end of the season.
ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said the Ducks might be his preseason favorite for a national championship. In most sportsbooks, Gabriel is the running favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. In USA Today’s preseason polls, a panel picked the Ducks to finish second in the Big Ten behind just Ohio State and picked Gabriel as the unanimous player of the year.
There is no shortage of preseason love the Ducks have taken in this summer, in large part due to the roster Lanning has assembled and his track record of success.
Don’t mistake that for Oregon resting on its laurels, though.
“Hype is cheap, talk is cheap,” Gabriel said. “Everything that everyone is talking about preseason is extremely cool and exciting and I acknowledge that. But for the most part, it’s what have you done for me lately? I’m focused on the now, on the moment, to be the best version of myself for these guys in Eugene right now. That’s all we’re focused on. We’re taking it one day at a time.”
Make no mistake about it: There’s one goal on the mind of every player and coach on Oregon’s roster. Aside from focusing on its first game against Idaho Aug. 31 at Autzen Stadium, there was one overlying reason many players with NFL draft prospects opted to return, and many players looking for a change in scenery chose Eugene as their new home.
“We all want to win a national championship,” Ferguson said. “That’s what we came back to do. There’s no expectation of anything else. That’s all we’re coming back to do.”
As Lanning announced Oregon’s arrival to the Big Ten, which officially begins Aug. 2, he and the players also proclaimed their intentions for the upcoming season. The Ducks aren’t looking to just transition to their new conference. They’re looking to win it.
“The great thing about college football is you still have to play the games,” Lanning said. “It really doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, the only people that really truly affect that are the players and coaches. That’s our focus. How can we control our destiny? You do that by focusing on what’s right in front of you, not what’s way on the horizon.”
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @AlecDietz.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon football’s Dan Lanning, Dillon Gabriel talk Big Ten
