Following their heartbreaking loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, quarterback Dillon Gabriel, and linebacker Jeffrey Bassa talk to members of the media about the Ducks' Rose Bowl Game.
Here is everything that the Ducks head coach said about his team, the Buckeyes, the game, and the miraculous season that Oregon was able to accomplish before the loss:
Dan Lanning's opening statement:
"Before we get into the game, first off, just want to recognize the people in New Orleans. We're thinking of them, praying for them, there's no place for that in this world. Disappointed to hear that happens and a loss of life is always something that you don't want to take for granted so I'm hoping for some solutions there.
"But getting into the game, you know, they clicked tonight, we didn't. I didn't get our team prepared, you know, and that's a great team. When you play a great team like Ohio State, you can't not be clicking on all cylinders. They were, they were clicking on all cylinders, we didn't really have the ability to stop them and we didn't have the ability to get something going for us on offense.
We haven't faced a lot of moments like that this year. It's an unbelievable team, Coach Day and his staff have done an unbelievable job there. Don't want to discredit what our players have been able to accomplish this year, we're a great team. You know, we just ran into a great team tonight and we didn't play our best, so, credit to those guys.
"I'll say this about our team, there wasn't a second we stepped on the field where I felt like our guys were disheartened or they didn't wanna give the effort to go play. I just don't think we had a good enough plan as coaches tonight and we've gotta find ways to prepare ourselves for these moments better as a coaching staff. But I love that team, I love that team in there, I love what those guys were able to accomplish.
"What's tough is when you play great teams at the end of the season, somebody's not going to come out on top and those guys came out on top tonight and that's a team, I think, that has the ability to go win it all. So, proud of our guys, I was certainly proud of the season and disappointed in tonight. You know, if you're a competitor there's no way you're not gonna be disappointed in the result tonight."
Dan Lanning on the long break between the Big Ten Championship and the Rose Bowl:
"Yeah, I think that's an excuse, you know, I thought our guys prepared well going in. Obviously, they had a better plan than us but that's an excuse. That's an opportunity that we had to recharge. I thought our guys did practice well, you know, I'd tell you if that wasn't the case. I thought that they had great focus, I just don't think our plan was good enough and I think that they had a great plan to attack us so credit to those guys."
Dan Lanning on the growth mindset and what there is to learn:
"We've gotta be able to adjust a little bit faster, right? There was some things we were able to get going at points, you know, throughout the game. We didn't adjust fast enough, it's tough when you're playing a team that doesn't have a lot of weakness. They've got strengths. Their wideouts were creating a lot of success down the field and then their ability to run the ball makes them a special team. They didn't make mistakes on special teams.
"You need some of those things to bounce your way. And then offensively, we struggled to get a first down. You know, early on. I thought Dillon did an unbelievable job at the end of the half, creating a spark for our team. But a lot of those weren't natural plays. It wasn't like the first read was there. It was this guy busting his tail and guys like Traeshon and the O-Line fighting like crazy to extend plays and create those moments. We just didn't have enough of those moments tonight."
Dan Lanning on how Ohio State was able to execute better against Oregon this time:
"Well, I think they were able to create some shot opportunities. They caught us in a couple of coverages that gave them the chance to have success and you can decide, okay, we're gonna try to pressure but that's gonna send some one-on-ones but they got us in some situational checks that was successful.
"They have great players, right? They had some guys out there that made plays and you have to give those guys credit."
Dan Lanning on continuing to fight while down 34-0:
"Just that, if you give them a great plan, they're gonna have the chance to go out there and execute at a high level and they've got a lot of fight. Like I said, I thought our guys fought all night. There's probably even more opportunities where I could've given them a chance to fight and I didn't do a great job of that. But those guys went out there and battled every second tonight."
Dan Lanning on Jeremiah Smith's success:
"Yeah, he's strong, he attacks the ball in the air as well as any receiver I've seen. I mean, the guy's NFL ready, he's that talented. He's very special and Will Howard did a great job of getting the ball to him tonight. He's tough to defend, he's physical, you know, he's got all of the tools. So, really talented player."
Dan Lanning on fuel for motivation while celebrating their success:
"You know, we're probably not there yet. There's disappointment but I talk to the team about life in that locker room and how grateful I am for the opportunity to coach this team. You know, I love these guys and they put it all out on the field for us. Blood, sweat, and tears.
"But, you know, adversity happens in life and we're gonna get an opportunity in life to continue to attack and move forward. I know there's a lot of winners in that room and there are a lot of guys who are going to go on and be great fathers, great husbands. I saw those examples here on our team. They're going to be great business leaders, they're going to be great NFL players. They gave their heart and soul to us.
"For me, it's not about getting knocked down, it's about when you get back up and what you do next."
Dan Lanning on Evan Stewart's absence from the Rose Bowl:
"He's a dynamic player, he's been great for us all year. He kinda got tweaked in pregame and had been able to practice but had been somewhat limited where we thought he was gonna be a potential go but leaned on the side of protecting the player in that situation.
"If you ask Evan, he wanted to be out there on the field, you know, you don't want to put him in a situation that's not gonna be safe for him. He's certainly been a dynamic piece for us all year and would've loved to have him out there for us but grateful for what he's been able to do for us this season."
Dan Lanning on Ohio State struggling against Michigan:
"You know sometimes it's just not your day and I think that was us today. It wasn't our day today, it wasn't their day against Michigan but what's unique about college football right now and this dynamic is that you've gotta be playing your best ball at the end. And, I think, anybody's watching Ohio State recognizes that they're playing really good football."
Dan Lanning on winning the Big Ten title and the CFP format:
"We had an opportunity. We didn't take advantage of our opportunity. I'm not gonna make excuses for our opportunity, right? I mean, ultimately you've gotta beat great teams to be in position at the end of the year and we didn't do that. This is the road that we had to travel and they did it better than us tonight. So, no complaints for us for having that opportunity. They just took advantage of it and we didn't."