Ducks Digest

Oregon Ducks, Dan Lanning Blocking Outside Noise Ahead of Georgia Game

The Oregon Ducks are viewed as heavy underdogs against the Georgia Bulldogs in week one of the 2022 college football season.

Josh Parker

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This week, Dan Lanning will make his Oregon coaching debut against his former team in the Georgia Bulldogs. But his focus isn't specifically to defeat his former team, but to get his first statement victory for his program.

Sports books across the country have had a consistent mindset about the Georgia game throughout the summer: they don't give the Ducks much of a shot to knock off the Bulldogs. SI Sportsbook released its betting odds for the game and has Georgia as a 17-point favorite.

READ MORE: Oregon Ducks vs. Georgia Bulldogs betting odds

On Monday Lanning was asked if the word underdog has floated around the locker room in the days leading up to the game.

“We don’t really bother ourselves with the opinions of others. Nobody in Vegas is gonna play in this game," Lanning said. "Our players are going to play in this game. We know what everyone thinks about our team, and that’s okay by us. Our goal is to go out there and play the best game we can possibly play." 

The underdog title is nothing to new to Oregon, especially in big games. Around this time last year, not many gave the Ducks a chance when they were without two of their best defenders in Justin Flowe and Kayvon Thibodeaux against the Ohio State Buckeyes. 

Ryan Day and his squad were favored to beat the Ducks by two touchdowns, and as everyone knows the, Ducks handled their business, earning a historic upset win taking down the Buckeyes 35-28.

As the season progressed last year and the Ducks drew national praise, their perception began to change after a blowout loss to Utah in the regular season. After that loss and playing down to their opponents, Oregon became an underdog in the Pac-12 title game in a rematch against the Utah. They'd lose that game 38-10 in a carbon copy of the game from two weeks prior.

READ MORE: Kirby Smart Says He Knows Who Oregon's Starting Quarterback is Ahead of Ducks Matchup

Taking it for what it is worth, this Duck team is one that is tired of being given that title and feels that they have something to prove in a new season with new faces across the board across the roster and on the coaching staff.

Lanning made it clear that nobody but the players will be playing this game and that canceling any outside noise will be a primary focus when the Ducks line up against one of the premier teams in the sport. He doesn't want to the hype get the better of his team and is driving home that the game will be won on the field. 

“Play the game not the occasion, that’s certainly the focus.” the head coach said. “You can’t win on emotion you have to win on execution”.

With 15 Georgia players departing from the program for the NFL draft we'll get to see a few new faces for the Bulldogs this Saturday. What they lost in the draft they make up for with consistently elite recruiting classes, players that have been on campus getting developed by this Georgia staff over the years just waiting for their opportunity in a game like this one.

Taking away that Lanning helped lead Georgia to a national title victory with one of college football's all-time defenses, Oregon can make their own mark with a win on Saturday. The game is hosted at a neutral site in Atlanta, for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff classic, but Duck fans can expect to see a lot more red then green in the stands on Saturday.

Kick off is at 12:30 pm PT on ABC, and after 20 hard fall camp practices, a week of game preparation, and months of anticipation the Ducks will finally get their 2022 season started with their new head coach leading them into battle.

READ MORE: How to watch, get live updates for No. 11 Oregon vs. No. 3 Georgia 

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Josh Parker
JOSH PARKER

Josh Parker is a student at the University of North Florida who will be graduating in the winter of 2022 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Management. He has spent the last six years building vast sports experience as a Division 1 football player at Stetson University, varsity football coach at Nease and Bishop Kenny High Schools. He primarily covers football and recruiting at Ducks Digest.

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