Dan Lanning's Fiery Halftime Speech Led to Oregon Smashing UW Helmet With Sledgehammer

Karl Rasmussen | 15 Hours Ago

Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning holds a Washington helmet at halftime. / Screenshot via Oregon Football on X

You'll be hard pressed to find a more motivational coach across all of college football than Oregon's Dan Lanning. That much was on display during the Ducks' annual rivalry showdown against the Washington Huskies on Saturday.

Lanning entered Saturday's game with an 0–3 record against Washington. He was looking to do more than beat the Huskies during the Cascade Clash. He was looking to demolish them.

He instilled that message in his team at halftime. With Oregon up 28–14, Lanning delivered a surreal halftime speech that had the entire team fired up.

Lanning wanted the Ducks to figuratively beat Washington's heads in, and he put on a display of that in the locker room. Having had gotten hold of a UW helmet, Oregon's head coach hoisted it in the air and proceeded to invite strength and conditioning coach Wilson Love to smash the helmet in with a sledgehammer in the middle of the Ducks' locker room.

These are so damn good. https://t.co/iGSanMEoxY pic.twitter.com/kAiKvq0Ij9

— ☘️LegalizeQuack☘️ (@Legalize_Quack) December 3, 2024

Even after departing the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, the Ducks-Huskies rivalry remains an extremely hostile one.

Oregon lived up to their coach's expectations, playing some tough, physical football en route to a 49–21 victory, their biggest win over the Huskies since 2012. The Ducks capped off an undefeated season––something no other team in the country was able to achieve––and was ranked No. 1 seed in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.

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