NCAAF News: Ducks HC Dan Lanning reveals curious similarity with Bulldogs' Kirby Smart

One of the most anticipated matchups this season in NCAAF is undoubtedly the one featuring the Oregon Ducks and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Both teams have extraordinary coaches in Dan Lanning and Ryan Day, and if there’s one thing they know, it’s how to play under pressure. On this, Lanning made a unique comparison with Bulldogs HC Kirby Smart.

Pasadena will roll out the red carpet to host these two great teams, both of which had high aspirations at the start of the season, often bringing great pressure to achieve the desired results. Despite this, Lanning knows he prefers to be in these circumstances and feel the pressure, rather than not playing at all.

“If you’re in moments like this, you’re certainly going to feel pressure. I think anybody who says they’re not, they’re lying. . . . You want to be in positions where pressure is applied,” Lanning said to the press.

In addition to this, the coach of the only team to finish the regular season undefeated revealed to the press a particular similarity with Smart, whom he has held in great respect and admiration since his entrance into College Football.

Oregon head coach, Dan Lanning, prior to the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game featuring the Georgia Bulldogs and the Oregon Ducks, played at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Kirby (Smart) said it before but I agree with him: ‘Pressure is a privilege.’ If you put yourself in position to where you’re going to have pressure, that’s something you have to be able to handle,” Lanning said. “And our team’s handled it really well so far, have to continue to do so down the stretch.”

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Lanning reflected on his feelings about Ohio State

The Ducks and Buckeyes have been two of the most solid teams, and their only meeting in the regular season ended with a victory for the team from Eugene, 32-31, a very close result. This is why Dan Lanning knows the great talent his rival possesses, something they cannot underestimate in the Rose Bowl.

“They (Ohio State) have a lot of strengths,” Lanning said to the press. “They’re really good on both sides of the ball and on special teams.”

“The way you maintain it is you win. You do it by focusing on each play, each moment not making it bigger than it is. Everybody has a job for the team, doing that job for your team. If we do that, things will go the right way,” he also added.