Dan Lanning calls out media for asking questions about Indiana game rather than Rutgers

No. 3 Oregon suffered its first loss of the season last Saturday at home against No. 7 Indiana. The Hoosiers won the game 30-20 and earned one of the marquee victories of the entire college football season.

Head coach Dan Lanning is ready to move on from the disappointing loss and focus on this weekend’s game against Rutgers, but one media member wasn’t quite ready to stop talking about the game. Lanning had just begun his Wednesday press conference when he was asked a question about Indiana‘s defense. He quickly shut the question down.

“You guys know we’re playing Rutgers right?” Lanning asked. “We did Monday press conference already.”

He went on to answer the question, but ended his answer by asking if anybody else had Indiana questions.

“Any other Indiana questions,” Lanning asked with a smile. “They played really good guys. They had a better plan than us and we played that game last Saturday.”

Oregon has shifted all gears to Saturday matchup against Rutgers

The loss to Indiana shifted Lanning’s record against ranked opponents to 11-7 since he took over as Oregon‘s head coach in 2022. The Ducks tied the game up early in the fourth quarter thanks to a Brandon Finney Jr. 35-yard interception return, but the Hoosiers outscored them 10-0 over the final 6:23 to hang on for the 10-point victory.

Through six games, No. 8 Oregon now sits at 5-1 and could clinch bowl eligibility this weekend against Rutgers. Although they are just 2-1 in conference play, they are scheduled to face just one ranked opponent (No. 20 USC) over their final six Big Ten games. If Oregon can get to 11-1 (7-1), it can very likely clinch yet another College Football Playoff berth.

Lanning’s team will look to avoid pulling a Penn State this weekend against the Scarlet Knights in Piscataway. Rutgers opened the season with a 3-0 record, but have dropped all three of their games against Big Ten opponents (Iowa, Minnesota and Washington).

“There were a lot of mistakes made, but … it’s hard to give Oregon a pass for losing a game like this at home, but I still think they have an outstanding quarterback,” ESPN‘s Paul Finebaum said after Saturday’s loss. “I think Dan Lanning remains one of the best coaches in the country, although I would advise him to leave his shirt on in the future. But ultimately, I think they can creep their way back into this.”

Kick-off between No. 8 Oregon and Rutgers on Saturday is set for 6:30 PM ET. The game can be seen on Big Ten Network.