There was something almost symmetrical about the way Dan Lanning and Matt Rhule began this week, even though Oregon and Nebraska arrived there from very different Saturdays. Nebraska had just gone toe-to-toe with Indiana and walked away convinced it had allowed a winnable game to escape, while Oregon was trying to understand how an offense that had looked so functional at USC could turn the football over repeatedly and spend long stretches searching for answers against UCLA. Neither coach sounded particularly interested in hiding from what happened, and neither sounded willing to let disappointment become the story of the next game.
Rhule called Nebraska “disappointed but not discouraged,” but there was anger underneath that distinction because the Cornhuskers believed the Indiana game was there to be won. “I thought our guys were ready to play. I thought they answered the call time and time again,” Rhule said. “But when we watched the tape on Sunday, I think you have a team that’s angry, knows that they let one get away. We were certainly disappointed but not discouraged, but we also understand that that’s what it looks like. You have to not play really well for 55 minutes. You have to play well for 60.”
Lanning’s opening sounded different only because Oregon had more to correct. He said there were things the Ducks did well against UCLA, but “plenty of things we didn’t do right,” and the response had already moved into evaluation before Oregon reached the practice field Monday. “You evaluate everything there and you say, okay, how can we get better?” Lanning said. “That’s certainly what we’re attacking right now for this week. Started off this morning and really going into practice today where our guys had the right mindset of how we can improve and what we can do to be better.”
That makes this week’s From Both Sidelines less about two coaches trying to create confidence and more about two staffs trying to determine what the film actually demands from them. Rhule wants Nebraska to become “one or two plays better” without living inside the regret of Indiana, while Lanning is openly acknowledging that Oregon’s plan, execution and even some of its weekly operation have to change. Somewhere between those two responses sits a fascinating Saturday night at Autzen.
