Dan Lanning, Dante Moore, Bryce Boettcher reflect on loss to Indiana

 

In a game that was billed as a top-ten showdown, Oregon’s offense sputtered, its protection faltered, and its rhythm never quite materialized. The Ducks’ 30-20 loss to Indiana left players and coaches searching for answers — and taking responsibility.

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“We Beat Ourselves”

Quarterback Dante Moore didn’t shy away from accountability.

“In all phases it was not great,” Moore admitted. “Indiana’s a great team, a great coaching staff, great players — and they had a great scheme. They had a lot of different concepts they ran on defense. Overall, I felt like we beat ourselves when it came to penalties and me missing simple reads. We didn’t have our routine from the start to the end. I feel like overall we beat ourselves and we’ve got to give kudos to Indiana.”

Moore acknowledged that Indiana found a weakness during the bye week that the Hoosiers were able to exploit.

“They kind of found something in our offense,” he said. “We both had bye weeks, and they kind of attacked that certain area. We had a couple of protection issues, but that can start from me — keying the defense and getting the protection right. I’ve got to take control and make sure I get the protections right so I can take hits off of me and get the ball to the right place.”

Despite taking six sacks, Moore insisted he finished strong.

“I feel amazing,” he said with a smile. “I appreciate you.”

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Indiana’s Defensive Plan

Moore gave credit to the Hoosiers’ defensive design, particularly their zone-to-crash looks that disrupted Oregon’s timing.

“They did a lot of great schemes on defense,” Moore said. “There were a couple of throws I missed where I just escaped out of the pocket. At the end of the day, they had a great plan, and since we played them now, it’s going to be something other defenses try to do against us because they know that can be our weakness. We’ve got to attack it, get the protection right, get the ball placement right, and we’ll be good from there.”

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“We’re Resilient”

Linebacker Bryce Boettcher echoed his quarterback’s respect for the opponent — and his belief in Oregon’s resolve.

“Obviously no one’s happy about losing that game,” Boettcher said. “We’ve got something to prove. We’ve got a chip on our shoulder. We can use it as fuel or be down on ourselves. We’ll go to the doctor tomorrow, learn from it, and then back to work.”

After back-to-back emotionally draining games, Boettcher emphasized the team’s resilience.

“We battle,” he said. “That was the big question mark leading up to last week — we hadn’t been in a close game yet. We showed in both games that we’re able to battle back even when we’re down. Obviously, this one didn’t go our way, but like I said, we’ll go to the doctor tomorrow and get better.”

Boettcher also refused to let outside narratives about the Big Ten’s strength creep into the Ducks’ mindset.

“We don’t worry about the outside narrative,” he said. “It’s all within our locker room, within our team. So we just work hard and on to the next opponent.”

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Moments Missed

Boettcher pointed to defensive back Brandon Finney Jr.’s interception as one of the game’s pivotal moments.

“It was an incredible play by Finney,” Boettcher said. “We talk about the ball and how it’s our oxygen — when you can get the ball on defense and create turnovers, it’s a big-time play. It felt like that was the play we needed right there, and unfortunately we couldn’t capitalize going into the fourth quarter, but that’s the game — and Indiana is a good team.”

Even in defeat, Boettcher’s process never changes.

“This would be pretty hard to forget about,” he said. “I’ll go see my family downstairs for a second and thank them for coming to the game, and then I’ll go watch it on my iPad — maybe once or twice. Then back up here tomorrow to get recovery in, a good lift, and probably watch the game again.”

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Lanning: “Adversity Is Real”

Head coach Dan Lanning shared the same tone of accountability as his players.

“Adversity is real,” Lanning said. “You’re gonna face it at some point in your career. It’s how you respond to it. We didn’t have our fastball today. They did a great job. In this game everyone wants to look at players and say, ‘This is the reason.’ That was a team effort and that was a team loss. Their team played better than us. It wasn’t Dante — it’s the whole group, the coaching staff, the players.”

Lanning reaffirmed his faith in Moore.

“Dante’s a confident player,” he said. “I thought they had a better plan ultimately. They had good rush all day — our protection wasn’t clean. But he’s a guy we have a lot of confidence in. He’s tough. He took some hits today, and we have to do a better job protecting our quarterback.”

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What Went Wrong

From Lanning’s perspective, Indiana’s precision and physicality made the difference.

“They had extra hats at the point of attack,” he said. “They did a great job defending the sticks. They were aggressive and really well-coached. They won the 50-50 balls. Some of those were really close, but they did a good job being tight in coverage.”

The coach admitted Oregon’s own plan came up short.

“Ultimately, I don’t think our plan was great,” he said. “We didn’t stop the run when it mattered most. We’ve got to have a better plan there at the end of the game. Third down we weren’t good on offense, and we’ve got to be able to avoid third down. Tempo — we didn’t handle it well. Their pitches were better than our pitches. Ultimately, that’s something we can improve.”

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Looking Forward

Even in frustration, there was clarity about what comes next.

“Nobody is perfect, except for God,” Moore said. “Everybody is going to make their mistakes, and of course it’s about how you bounce back. I’ve got to make sure I’m continuing to talk to the offense and defensive side of the ball. When things are going bad, just be more of a communicator on the field.”

Lanning agreed, focusing on growth rather than blame.

“I don’t think anyone in the organization did the best they’re capable of today, myself included,” he said. “It starts today. But we’ll grow from it and get better.”

Oregon leaves the Indiana loss knowing what slipped away — but with a clear sense of accountability, unity, and purpose for the road ahead.