Dan Lanning: “An unbelievable opportunity sitting in front of us”

 

Top-10 Collision in Eugene: Oregon and Indiana Bring Identity, Composure, and Belief into a Defining Week

When ESPN’s College GameDay descends on Eugene, the spotlight is rarely undeserved — and this weekend’s top-10 matchup between No. 3 Oregon and No. 7 Indiana promises to justify every ounce of attention. Both programs enter the game undefeated in Big Ten play, defined by efficiency, balance, and a shared belief that preparation outweighs hype.

For Dan Lanning, Saturday’s meeting isn’t about narratives — it’s about execution and discipline. “It’s an unbelievable opportunity sitting in front of us here with a top-10 matchup against a really good team,” he said. “You watch these guys on tape and they do a lot of things well. I think the first thing that stands out is how dominant they’ve been on special teams. Blocking kicks is what they do.”

Lanning praised Indiana’s identity on both sides of the ball. “They have a clear identity. They know what they’re good at, and they do it really, really, really well,” he said. “They run the ball well, and they obviously RPO tags off a lot of their runs. They make sure when they’re running it, they’re running into an advantageous look — and when they’re throwing it, they’re throwing into a good look.”

Indiana’s offensive stability under quarterback Fernando Mendoza, now thriving under Curt Cignetti, has caught the Ducks’ attention. “Their timing is really impressive,” Lanning said. “He knows where his wideout is going to be and knows what coverage he’s throwing into. That’s an indicator of a really well-coached player that knows his system extremely well.”

But Lanning’s focus, as always, remains internal. “They do enough of that to where you think, ‘OK, this is what it’s going to be,’ and then they throw a wrinkle in there,” he said. “They’re playing in an offense that clearly has an identity. It’s not about inventing new offense — it’s about running it better than you.”

Indiana’s head coach Curt Cignetti mirrored that respect, calling Lanning’s work in Eugene “tremendous.”

“They’re a great opponent. Great team. Extremely well-coached,” he said. “Coach Lanning has done a tremendous job in recruiting, development, and retention. Probably one of the most impressive young coaching phenoms to come around in a while.”

Cignetti, too, has built his program around balance and discipline — and he sees similar traits across the field. “They have a lot of great players — big, fast, athletic, physical, with depth,” he said. And on Oregon’s rising sophomore quarterback? “Dante Moore has big-time arm talent, quick release, and accuracy. He’s very athletic and fluid. He can run and extend plays, change direction. He’s really impressive on tape.”

Dante Moore: “We’re built for big moments”

For Moore, this week is another test of poise. His breakout win at Penn State, where he led Oregon to a double-overtime thriller, became an emotional statement. “People don’t understand how much prep and work was put into that week,” he said. “If I told my younger self that you’re about to play in front of 112,000 in a whiteout — one of the hardest atmospheres in the world — and win in double overtime, it’s just crazy.”

That win wasn’t about hype, he explained. It was validation of process. “Coach Lanning this week has been speaking about Secretariat — a horse who kept his blinders on,” Moore said. “That’s us. We keep tunnel vision within ourselves. We don’t listen to the hype. We just come to work.”

Asked what the Penn State win taught him, Moore didn’t hesitate: “We’re built for big moments.”
And this week, he added, “Indiana is 5-0 for a reason. They have a great head coach, great players, and great schemes. We’ve got to make sure we’re playing to our standard, protecting the football, and converting on third down.”

For Oregon tight end Jamari Johnson, whose overtime touchdown sealed the win in Happy Valley, confidence hasn’t turned into complacency. “It was wild,” he said of the shovel-pass touchdown. “It was a lot of chaos and a lot of crowd noise, but once I got that ball in my hands, it just felt like something shocked me and I just had to get in the end zone.”

Still, he was quick to deflect any suggestion that the moment changed Oregon’s mindset. “Nah, I don’t think it really changed our mindset or changed anything,” he said. “It was just a game. It was a heated game for sure, but it didn’t change anything.”

That perspective extends to Indiana’s defense — one of the nation’s best at creating pressure and turnovers. “They’re good players for sure,” Johnson said. “But for us, again, it doesn’t really change anything. We play against good ends a lot. It’s going to be the same chip, same run block, same thing all around.”

On the other side of the ball, cornerback Theran Johnson faces one of the country’s most efficient passing attacks. His focus? Control first down, stay disciplined on RPOs, and win matchups. “Winning first down — that’s a big key,” he said. “They like RPOs, a lot of quick-hitter stuff. So just being all over it.”

Johnson, who faced this offense a year ago at Northwestern, understands how far Indiana has come. “When I was growing up, they were kind of a laughingstock,” he said. “But they’ve really turned it around. Now they’re respected — ranked, beating ranked teams. You can’t do anything but tip your hat.”

But he echoed his coach’s emphasis on internal focus. “We’re just coming in trying to execute our game plan,” he said. “We’re not really worried about what they’re doing.”

After the physical Penn State game, the bye week came at the right time. “It was huge,” Johnson said. “Everybody got a chance to rest and recover. That was a really physical game, so it was a nicely placed and welcomed bye week.”

If there’s a single throughline connecting every voice — from Lanning to Moore, Jamari to Theran — it’s a commitment to identity and preparation over emotion. “We pitch a lot at them every single week,” Lanning said of his young defense. “These guys have worked really hard and prepared really hard. They push themselves in practice to get the results you want on Saturdays.”

Even amid the College GameDay buzz, he reminded his team and fans that the spectacle doesn’t change the mission. “It doesn’t necessarily affect our prep,” Lanning said. “Indiana’s a really talented team, but our fans have a chance to make an impact. We want to see it and feel it on Saturday.”

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Final Thought

Two teams with clear identities — one built on balance and precision, the other on depth and adaptability — meet in Autzen Stadium with conference supremacy on the line. Curt Cignetti called Oregon “a great team, extremely well-coached.” Dan Lanning returned the respect, calling Indiana “a team with an identity that knows what it’s good at.”

Both are right.

This week, the difference may not come down to hype, play calls, or headlines — but to who best embodies what both coaches preach: preparation, composure, and the relentless pursuit of one more cut.