“Execution Over Emotion”: Inside Oregon’s Rivalry Win Through the Voices Who Lived It

SEATTLE — Long after the chants from the upper deck faded, long after the final fourth-down surge sealed what Dan Lanning called “one of the best [rivalry games] I’ve been a part of,” the Oregon Ducks walked off the field with the feeling of something earned—not given.

And the voices in the tunnel sounded exactly like you’d expect from a team that had spent a week balancing Lanning’s message: History is great, but we gotta write some history today.

From the moment he stepped to the podium, Lanning’s tone was steady. “Competitive game,” he opened. “I give credit to Washington, they didn’t make it easy for this environment. Thought our players handled the chaos extremely well. Don’t think the noise affected us. Even heard our fans chanting there at the end which is awesome—being able to come into somebody else’s stadium and create that.”

This wasn’t a night about cruising. This was about control—of the ball, of the moment, of emotion.

Lanning: “We talked about this game was gonna come down to takeaways.”

“We talked about this game was gonna come down to takeaways,” he said, the corners of his mouth pulling into that familiar you-knew-it smile. “To take away the ball twice and be able to own the ball on offense… our kicker obviously played outstanding—four kicks in a tough place to kick.”

Atticus Sappington, standing a few rooms over, still looked a little bit stunned that his 51-yarder sailed true.

“I hit it pretty good,” Sappington said. “I saw it had some good height on it. I was like, ‘Come on. Just get there.’ When it crossed the plane I was like, ‘Okay, bang it.’ First ever 50-yard field goal I’ve made. I was super, super fired up.”

He smiled again—softly this time—for something bigger than the kick.

“It’s always special to deliver for your team and help get a big victory to secure our seat in the playoffs,” he added. “But I don’t really concern myself with the past. God put me in this game for a reason… and that reason is to go out there and glorify Him through it.”

But Oregon needed more than field goals. They needed a play. They needed the play.

They called Malik Benson’s number.

Benson: “Once I caught it, I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s my time to turn up.’”

The stadium held its breath. Oregon breathed in.

“I got the call and saw the defender back up,” Benson said. “I trust Nay to put it in the spot—it’s gotta be in that spot. Once I caught it and landed on my feet, I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s my time to turn up.’”

Lanning couldn’t help but gush.

“That play was as impressive as any,” he said. “Just the composure, man. You saw the ball security there. What an unbelievable teammate he’s been for us this year.”

Benson understood the stakes, even if the rivalry’s depth wasn’t something he grew up with.

“It’s crazy,” he said, shaking his head. “I didn’t really know this was a big rivalry like that. But once I got educated… I’m just glad I could put my stamp on it.”

Dante Moore: “Feelings are my feelings. Oh, they were hype.”

Quarterback Dante Moore, whose growth over the last month has mirrored Oregon’s emergence, couldn’t hide his smile.

“That was one of our longest passes all game,” he said. “Feels good to put points on the board.”

But what mattered more was the trust.

“All week I was talking to different guys that have been in the program multiple years, like Bryce,” he said. “He had so much emotion that I used it as fuel. At the end of the day, it was emotional—how much this win meant for the team and just the state of Oregon.”

He kept circling back to Lanning’s message.

“We’re trying to do more execution over emotion,” Moore said. “When good plays happened, we got hats on helmets. When bad plays happened, we communicated. We can’t let emotions phase us.”

And Lanning? Moore laughed.

“You know Coach Lanning and how insane he is,” he said regarding the fourth-down conversions. “He’s a guy that has so much trust in the offensive side of the ball. That’s a coach you would die for.”

Bryce Boettcher: “It feels pretty dang special.”

No one wore the emotions of the moment more plainly than Bryce Boettcher.

“It feels pretty good,” he admitted. “It’s stuff you dream about—season on the line, coming up here to U-Dub. I’m one-and-three against these guys in my career… to end it in that fashion, with these guys by my side, is pretty dang special.”

He looked at Moore beside him and grinned.

“We’re gonna get Dante a shirt,” he joked when reporters asked about his “CCU” tee. “Caucasian Collision Unit.”

But then the conversation shifted to something heavier.

“It starts with caging the quarterback,” Boettcher said. “He’s a heck of a player. At times he got out, but at the end of the day, we did a good enough job.”

And then the simplest truth:

“The expectation is to win a national championship, plain and simple.”

Dillon Thieneman: “All-around good coaching, good defense.”

Safety Dillon Thieneman echoed what his coach said.

“That’s probably the hardest guy in the nation to track in the pocket,” Lanning had said earlier. “Every time you spy him… it affects coverage.”

Thieneman nodded.

“We’ve got great coaches and great players,” he said. “They put in the scheme, we executed it. Without great coverage, the D-line can’t get to him. Just all-around good coaching, good defense.”

Lanning’s Final Word: “It’s supposed to be hard.”

Before he walked out of the room, Lanning took a moment to zoom out.

“It’s not supposed to be easy,” he said. “It’s supposed to be hard. The team that earns it gets to play. There’s only 12 teams in the nation that get to keep playing… and we get the opportunity to do that.”

Someone asked if this team was playing its best.

“Time will tell,” he said. “What I do know is this team will come to work. I think our group realizes how special this is. I hope everyone realizes how special it is.”

He paused, looked up, and added:

“The great part is—we’re not done playing yet.”