The entire college football world is aware of the epic pregame speech that Oregon head coach Dan Lanning gave to his Ducks on Saturday.
“Rooted in substance. Not flash. Rooted in substance. Today, we talk with our pads. You talk with your helmet! Every moment! The Cinderella story is over, men!” Lanning shouted to his team.
“They’re fighting for clicks. We’re fighting for wins. There’s a difference, right? There’s a difference. This game ain’t gonna be played in Hollywood. It’s gonna be played on the grass.”
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning didn't hold back in his pregame speech against Colorado 👀
"They're fighting for clicks, we're fighting for wins." pic.twitter.com/imo4OHA4fA
— ESPN (@espn) September 23, 2023
His words have rubbed some people the wrong way.Â
One of those people is Skip Bayless, who insinuated on his FS1 “Undisputed” show that Lanning’s comments had racial undertones.
“I’ve tried to tell you guys for two weeks there is a deep-rooted, venomous vengeance that is starting to manifest itself against Deion among white coaches,” Bayless said.
Lanning was asked about Bayless’ comments and had the perfect response…
“I don’t know Skip at all. I’ve never had a conversation with him … I’ve watched him enough to know how often he gets it wrong, so that sounds about right.”
“Ultimately, here’s what I say. We’re playing to win the game. You saw a 15-second clip from a window outside the house of what happens in a locker room … I know our locker room. I’m in the house 100% of the time. I know how our players felt going into that game – and I know what it takes to motivate our players.”
Here's what Dan Lanning had to say about the outrage about his pregame speech and Skip Bayless pic.twitter.com/kpV3Ex3lPL
— Tsunami (@Tsunami_TS) September 26, 2023
Defending his speech, Lanning emphasized his role as a motivator for his players.
“My job is to motivate my players, and that’s what I was doing during my pregame speech,” he said.
Lanning also acknowledged that his team had strong feelings about Colorado’s actions before the game, which contributed to the intensity of the matchup.
“They felt a certain way about a group stomping on the O,” Lanning said of Colorado’s disrespectful actions during pregame warmups.
“They felt a certain way about guys talking to them in the pregame. I’m proud of those guys because what they decided to do is talk with their pads.”
Oregon just released a 5-minute recap of their win over Colorado.
Colorado was talking CRAZY before the game. pic.twitter.com/HyyJJXaWz6
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 26, 2023
Needless to say, Lanning and his Ducks got the last laugh as they handed Colorado a humiliating 42-6 loss.Â
What are your thoughts on Bayless and Lanning’s comments?