Oregon Ducks Coach Dan Lanning 'Shares Ideas' With Georgia Bulldogs Coach Kirby Smart

Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning and his team are opening Big Ten conference play when they play the UCLA Bruins on Saturday in the Rose Bowl. Coach Lanning opened up about his talks with Georgia Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart and how they "share ideas."

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning leads practice with the Oregon Ducks Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024 at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Oregon Ducks are coming off their bye week as they prepare for the Big Ten opener against the UCLA Bruins on Saturday night. What did Oregon coach Dan Lanning say about the Ducks bye week and the upcoming UCLA game?

Oregon Coming Off Bye Week

The Ducks are coming off a 49-14 throttling win over rival Oregon State. The Oregon offensive line had their best game of the season and it led the Ducks to rush to for 240 yards. Coach Lanning was asked what the difference was in the run game.

“Combo of scheme and where we were trying to direct those runs”, Lanning said. “Cohesion, more you play in the season the better you get.” 

Lanning was then asked about how the younger players on the team progressed during the week.

“Guys took steps during the bye”, Lanning said. “You don’t just develop during the bye week, but he whole season.”

Lanning also reflected on the close relationship between Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel and tight end Terrance Ferguson.

“A connected team is going to be a dangerous team. For guys to be connected on the field, they have to be connected off the field," Lanning said. 

Dan Lanning Still in Contact With Georgia Bulldogs Coach, Kirby Smart 

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and Oregon head coach Dan Lanning meet during warm ups before the start of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff NCAA college football game between Oregon and Georgia in Atlanta, on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. News Joshua L Jones / Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK

Before taking the head coaching job at Oregon, Dan Lanning was the defensive coordinator for the Georgia Bulldogs under coach Kirby Smart. Lanning’s last season at Georgia resulted in the Bulldogs having one of the most dominant defenses ever and a national championship win.

Even though it has been a few years, Lanning is still in contact with Kirby Smart and the Georgia staff.

“We talk consistently,” Lanning says about Smart. “Have had good conversations with those guys. They see good stuff on film, but they do the same for us. We share ideas and look for ways to defend people.”

Georgia has been one of the premier programs in college football over the past four years under Smart. The Bulldogs won back-to-back national championships in 2022 and 2023.

With Oregon and Georgia not being in the same conference, these two can share ideas more than if they were both in the Big Ten or SEC. Now, if they both wind up in the college football playoff, those talks would have to be put on hold.  

Oregon Takes on UCLA at the Rose Bowl 

The Ducks kick off their first Big Ten conference game when they match up with the UCLA Bruins on Saturday night. It’s a late-night kickoff time of 8 pm PST.

Coach Dan Lanning was asked about playing at the Rose Bowl.

“A special spot. It’s fun to go there.”, Lanning said.

The Ducks looks to improve to 4-0 on the 2024 season. 

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