Dan Lanning reveals heartfelt message to Dante Moore after 2 OT win at PSU

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, left, embraces Oregon quarterback Dante Moore after the Ducks’ win as the Oregon Ducks face the Penn State Nittany Lions on Sept. 27, 2025, at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, left, embraces Oregon quarterback Dante Moore after the Ducks’ win as the Oregon Ducks face the Penn State Nittany Lions on Sept. 27, 2025, at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Wednesday after practice USA Today reporter Zachary Neel asked Dan Lanning what he said to Dante Moore when they embraced at midfield after the Ducks 30-24 win over No. 3 Penn State in Happy Valley.

"I love you," Lanning said.

"And it's not because of the way he played. It's about the buy-in, it's about the work that he's put in and it's about the extra time. It's about the way he treats his teammates."

"The composure that he shows, the way he makes people around him better."

Moore showed phenomenal poise and calm during the Ducks' double overtime victory in front of 111,000 fans at the White Out. In a pressure cooker environment he was laser-focused.

After the game Moore told reporters, "These are things you pray and dream about as a kid."

"I talked to Coach Lanning more than anything. Coach Lanning has been in national championship environments, playing on the road in huge environments in the SEC. He always told me, 'It could be 200,000 fans but they can't make a block, they can't make a catch, they can't make a play.' It's really 11-on-11 football at the end of the day."

Moore's response to pressure was a key to Oregon's victory. He and the offense converted 5-7 times on fourth down.

Twice he evaded the pass rush to hit big plays, scrambling to his right to hit Kenyon Sadiq over the middle for 23 yards, rolling right again to connect with Gary Bryant on a 25-yard pass play to put the Ducks ahead for the final time in the second overtime.

He made another clutch throw on 4th and 1, complete to Dakorien Moore off Play Action, good for 29 yards.

Lanning said after the game, "I think we got the best quarterback in college football, all right? I mean, anybody watches that game? I don't know. I don't I maybe I don't see everybody else, but that guy's composure, his poise."

"I mean, even the big play at the end there, on the first overtime, you know, we're about to throw a screen in the boundary, he has the wherewithal to not throw it in the boundary, turn around and get it thrown back to the field."

On second and 7 of the first overtime as Lanning stated, the Ducks had a play that was designed to be a screen to the left but PSU smothered it. Moore scrambled right to avoid the rush and hit Gary Bryant on the run, a slant for 8 yards down to the 14 and a first down.

Moore's ability to remain calm and process his options at game speed is something the preseason critics never expected.

After he hit Dierre Hill for an 8-yard tunnel screen for a touchdown to take a 10-3 lead in the third quarter, PSU fans threw trash and water bottles on the field. Moore picked up water bottles and threw them off the field, a quiet, unconscious testimony to his character.

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