Kyle Whittingham Shares Honest Thoughts on Oregon Ducks' Late Field Goal

EUGENE, Ore. - The No. 16 Oregon Ducks (7-3 overall, 5-2 Big Ten) stamped in a commanding 31-7 Autzen Stadium win over the Michigan Wolverines (5-5 overall, 2-5 Big Ten), with two games now left on the docket to pick up a berth to the College Football Playoff.

With the Ducks' defense playing at a top level to limit the Wolverines' two quarterbacks (freshman Tommy Carr and sophomore Bryce Underwood) to a total of 71 passing yards, plus junior Duck quarterback Dylan Raiola's handful of impressive deep balls making big offensive moves, Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham had a lot to say postgame about his teams' performance.

Nov 14, 2026; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Kyle Whittingham, left, shakes hands with Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning after a game at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Ducks kicked a field goal with 40 seconds left in the game after trying to score one final touchdown, and Whittingham was asked if he had reservations about the Oregon offense still pushing late in the game:

"No, heck no. That's our job to stop them. They're not. You know, their job isn't to stop themselves. We got our guys out there, and it's our job to stop them and shoot if they want. You know, there's nothing in my mind that says anything different or thinks anything different."

Whittingham also opened up about Michigan's use of two quarterbacks and the Wolverines' missed tackles against the Oregon offense.

On His Decision About Quarterbacks

“When you saw Tommy's play last week, it was really very similar to what Bryce's was when we pulled Bryce several weeks ago. Thought Bryce deserved another opportunity, and so that was the sole reason was giving Bryce another opportunitywhen Tommy's game kind of went south on him previous week, and and that was where we're at with QB’s," Whittingham said.

“We had planned for the third series,” Whittingham said. “Unless, you know, to have a tentative plan that if we had had two fabulous 80-yard drives, we wouldn't have made a switch. But the plan was that, barring something that was out of the ordinary, we would play Bryce in that third series, and then decide that from that point forward, just who we felt gave us the best chance to move the ball.”

On A Lack Of Team Motivation

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"Well, I thought we were certainly ready to play. You know, locker room is very passionate. You know, when I'm coaching the game, it's tough to see everything that's going on behind you, but I didn't see any lack of effort or anybody pointing at all. We just didn't make enough plays, and and they're a good football team. They made a bunch of plays. They had a lot of great athletes, and and they you know they outplayed us today," Whittingham said.

"It's part of life," Whittingham said when asked about handling adversity. "I mean, we talk all the time about handling adversity, and it's going to come in some way, shape, or form virtually every single week. There's very few weeks when in a football game when you don't handle some adversity or get presented with adversity, and so all you can do is continue to coach it and talk about it, and instill a mindset that you don't flinch, you don't waver when adversity hits."

"Just keep playing right through it, and it's the same thing when things are going good. I mean, you can't can't be on a roller coaster. You just got to play steady, and that's part of it is playing through adversity."

Nov 14, 2026; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Kyle Whittingham watches the replay monitor during the second half in a game against the Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On Improvements on the Offense

"Not really," Whittingham said. "The numbers weren't much better. Pretty, pretty similar to what we've been experiencing all year. Lost the turnover margin, like I said. Seven points. You can have a hard time winning any games. Scoring seven points. So, so there was not really a much of a spark in that regard."

On Missed Tackles

"That sometimes happens when you start to press and try to do more than just your job, as and trying to do do more than you need to, and and that sometimes is a product of that. I'm not going to say that's that's why it happened. Again, there. They're good athletes," Whittingham said. "They're going to make you miss on occasion, but you know I think it was more. A lot of our problems stem from just trying to do too much and just not playing within the structure and the framework of the defense."

Nov 14, 2026; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning, left, shakes hands with Michigan Wolverines head coach Kyle Whittingham before a game at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On Kyle Whittingham's Conversation On Field With Dan Lanning

"No, that was just between me and him. Yeah, I like him. Good guy, good football coach, doing a great job," Whittingham said.

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