Notable quotes from Dan Lanning's presser after loss to Indiana in CFP

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The Oregon Ducks spent more than a calendar year trying to build themselves back up and avenge their disappointing Rose Bowl loss from last season. They had already advanced further than they did last year, and the only thing standing between them and the National Champion game was the Indiana Hoosiers.

It was a rematch of their Week 7 game where the Hoosiers won by 10 points, and somehow that would have been a better outcome than tonight. Things looked bleak from the start after Dante Moore threw a game-opening pick-six, and they never really recovered from that point.

The Ducks strung together some moments of good football, but they were overmatched for the most part in this game. Dan Lanning has been knocking at the doorstep of glory for a while now, so this feels like a bit of a shock to the system after his team arguably knocked themselves out of the game.

Let’s look at his thoughts on the loss in what will be his final postgame press conference of the season.

Opening Statement

Dan Lanning of the Oregon Ducks takes the field against the Indiana Hoosiers during the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 09, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Lanning: First off, all the credit in the world to Indiana. Said it before that they're an unbelievably well-coached team. I think that was really apparent tonight. They started off hot, and they really didn't slow down. They were able to run it and have success. Passing at their defense played outstanding. We were able to generate a little momentum there at times, but we were so far in the hole that you really couldn't create yourself out of that. And the takeaways, obviously they were able to create some. We didn't create those. They won average starting field position throughout the night. Their special teams were special. You see a really complete team. And I think they obviously have a great chance to keep it going and have unbelievable success. Credit to Coach Cignetti and credit to those players. They've got great leadership and a veteran team that really showed up.

Shellshocked

Q: What went wrong with the offense tonight?

Lanning: Ultimately there were moments where we had success offensively. But obviously when you have the takeaways, you start off with the pick six. You get a little bit in the hole. You probably start to press a little bit. You get away from some of the success you have in the run game at times. There's moments that we had some plays, but that's a damn good team. And you gotta give credit to them, too. It's not just what we didn't do, it's what they did do.

Seeing Double

Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) rushes the ball as Oregon Ducks defensive lineman A'mauri Washington (52) gives chase Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, during the Peach Bowl and semifinal game of the College Football Playoff at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Q: What did you think of Fernando Mendoza after seeing him twice?

Lanning: Yeah. The guy makes the right decisions. You consistently see if he sees the right coverage, you know, he takes the ball where it's supposed to go, dictated by coverage. I think he did a great job again on the scrambles early. I thought we had him boxed up on the third down early in the game, which was critical and he was able to scramble for a first down. That happened a couple of times. They were 11 for 14 on third down. So when you're able to have that kind of success on third down, you can't get a stop on third down, that’s a lot of credit to him, the job he does. He understands what he's doing. He has great weapons to be able to take advantage of.

Emotional Message

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning watches as Indiana scores as the Oregon Ducks face the Indiana Hoosiers in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 9, 2026, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

Q: What’s the hardest part about being in the locker room right now?

Lanning: Man, you hurt for those guys because the world is going to judge everybody in that room based on the result tonight. I'm going to judge those guys on the kind of fathers they become some day, the kind of husbands they become some day. But in this moment you feel like a failure, right? They're not failures. These guys won a lot of damn ball games. They've had a lot of success. They've change some peoples' lives, but right now, that moment is going to hurt. And the hard part, you know, you got guys like Bryce that they don't get to be a Duck anymore. They will be a Duck forever, but he does not get to go wear that uniform and go play a game for us again. I really wanted that for them, really wanted them to be able to enjoy that and experience that, and they don't get to. And I didn't do a good enough job of getting them there. They set the stage where there might be an opportunity down the road where somebody in this program is able to create something like that again, but he won't get to share that. But he will be a part of that if we're able to accomplish that moving forward.

Evolving

Q: How has Indiana evolved since the last time you saw them?

Lanning: They're complete. Again, they do a lot, and they do it really, really well. And there's not a weakness in their game. They run the ball well. They stop the run well. They throw the ball well. They defend the pass well. They're great in special teams. So you see a really complete team, a well-coached team. They obviously have a ton of belief and deservedly so. They're really good.

Déjà Vu

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning walks off the field after the Ducks’ loss as the Oregon Ducks face the Indiana Hoosiers in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 9, 2026, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

Q: What are your thoughts on back-to-back seasons ending in blowout losses?

Lanning: I think it's probably too premature for me to speak on what happened tonight until I go back and really evaluate it. I also think you can't discredit that we played well. We've played well at times even here in the postseason. Yeah, there will be an opportunity for reflection and evaluation, but I couldn't speak on that right now.

Learning Experience

Q: What can Dante Moore learn from this game?

Lanning: I think every man can learn from adversity. I just told that whole locker room, this is going to be about how you respond in life. This is going to be a life lesson that a lot of people never get. We just got our butt kicked, right? That's going to happen in life, and not just Dante. Every single person in the locker room, every coach, every person can learn, hey, how do you respond to that?

Some people crawl into a hole, don't face the music. Some people say, “okay, let's figure it out.” Let me challenge myself so I can be better. Let me be an example of how you handle moments like this. I think there is a way to handle that. Dante has been exceptional. Bryce, these guys have been exceptional, stewards of what we wanted to look like all year long. And it's gone right for us 13 times. Didn't go right tonight. And you can't let that overshadow. Every one of us has unbelievable disappointment. Learn from it. But there's a lot of lessons to be learned for everybody in life, and we'll learn the hard lessons here. And you know what? Most people will never be in the position where they get to learn that lesson that we get to learn from. These guys were in that position.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Top Dan Lanning quotes after CFP Peach Bowl loss to Indiana Hoosiers

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