Dan Lanning uncovers non-negotiables entering Oregon’s Peach Bowl CFP game vs. Indiana originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Oregon Ducks attempt to earn revenge next Friday in the Peach Bowl when they rematch the Indiana Hoosiers in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
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Minutes after the Ducks defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders by shutout, 23-0, Thursday, Lanning told reporters he had moved on to what’s next. The Hoosiers downed the Crimson Tide 38-3 in the Rose Bowl to make the rematch official.
“Start trying to evaluate the opponents that we could potentially play,” Lanning said. “Hopefully we get some WiFi up there in the air, and we can, you know, flip on a game and check it out. But it always starts with us. I sort of go back and look at this game and say, ‘Okay, well, what’d we do really well? Let’s go to the doctor. Let’s figure out what kind of medicine we got to take for the next game.’
The last thing Lanning wants is for his team to be side-tracked.
“I think that’s always the greatest indicator of what you have to improve when you start to analyze what you have in front of you,” Lanning said. “And then we’ll have kind of a bonus day here tomorrow, and then we’ll hop right into a normal week prep, right? Sunday prep. And I don’t even know what day to day is today, Saturday in my mind, but we’ll get a bonus day, and then it’ll be Sunday the next day.”
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Ultimately, though, being prepared while executing the game plan remains top priority.
“Strength in numbers. Connection to this group, the way they work all year,” Lanning said. “The sacrifices that they’ve made,” Lanning said. “They’ve earned this opportunity. I told them to go get their pound of flesh today. They did that today.”
It remains a mystery if Lanning’s New Year’s Day words will carry over to the Hoosiers’ rematch, as coach Curt Cignetti, Fernando Mendoza and company attempt to remain the last Big Ten team standing.
If the Ducks can pull it off, parity in college football will remain alive and well.
