LOS ANGELES — In a season filled with examples of the strength of Oregon football’s culture under Dan Lanning, it would be easy to point to Traeshon Holden spitting in an Ohio State player’s face as a deep crack in previously well-maintained armor.
It was the biggest game of the season, after all. And with the lights at their brightest, the incident was ugly. Holden admitted as much in the aftermath, buried as the storyline might have been by the Ducks’ historic win over the Buckeyes and ensuing march to a Big Ten championship.
Seated at Monday’s media day for the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl, set to face the same Ohio State team on Wednesday in Pasadena, a relaxed Holden didn’t shy away from his prior mistake.
“A lot of people said how I handled the situation after was good, but I should never have put myself in that situation to begin with,” Holden said. “I know better. Coach Lanning has been on me. That’s my guy. I appreciate him so much. I’ve been going to therapy and working on myself, just being a better person. I feel like that’s been helping me so much to control my thoughts and my emotions. It’s been way better.”
Holden sees his situation as an example of the collective strength this Ducks team possesses; that it faced down a mistake that could have frayed the interwoven threads of a locker room and instead used the moment to better themselves.
“If I mess up, I can go lean on my brother because I know he’s got me,” Holden said. “And if he messes up, he can lean on me because I’ve got him. I feel like once you have that in a locker room, you can’t be beaten. The most important thing of a team is I know he’s going to do his job, you can’t worry like ‘Oh, (expletive)’. I know he’s going to do his job. That’s what this team is.”
Tight end Terrance Ferguson said the universal, business-like approach the Ducks possess — particularly on the road for big games, like Oregon’s trip to the Big House or a rowdy Camp Randall — makes them unique as college football teams go. That could prove a difference-maker in the Rose Bowl and beyond, with more games required to win a national title than ever before.
“We treat them as business trips, and you don’t really gotta worry about anybody,” Ferguson said. “That’s a first for a team I’ve been a part of. Not worried about anybody messing around or goofing off. It’s a business trip and we’re here to handle business. I think we’ve done a great job throughout the season of doing that.”
It is about more than just collective focus on the task at hand or using mistakes as opportunities for these Ducks. Building out connection through intentional time together off the field — far beyond what is required in the day-to-day grind of a college football season, or what many transfers say they’ve experienced elsewhere — has been what sets the Ducks apart, players said.
Ferguson pointed to the retreat quarterback Dillon Gabriel took a handful of teammates on before the season in his now-famous minivan, and a recent expedition for tight ends shooting clay pigeons out at Patrick Herbert’s house. Defensive back Jabbar Muhammad said defensive backs have gathered at his house, playing EA Sports College Football 25 and eating some Rotel dip cooked up by Dontae Manning.
“I feel like we’ve been a connected team since I got here,” Muhammad said. “The extra that Coach Lanning does with us, getting to know each other, coming to his house for dinner, the camaraderie that we’ve all built together. Going over to somebody’s house, cooking some food, stuff like that. Just getting to know your brother off the field, I feel like that’s really important.”
Holden emphasized Lanning’s willingness to explore random subjects and truly connect with players, including he and his 38-year-old coach’s apparent shared interest in cologne. The Ducks’ connection, Holden said, starts at the top, and Lanning’s influence goes deeper than just motivational speeches.
“It’s definitely different,” Holden said. “Just Coach Lanning and how he is, I’m not trying to talk about Coach (Nick) Saban in any kind of way, but you knew with (Saban) it was straight football. I never had a conversation when it wasn’t. Coach Lanning will call me about 10 p.m., showing me some cologne. Just having a coach like that, I can go in his office and talk to him about anything, it don’t even got to be about football. We’re just sitting there chopping it up. I don’t think there’s nothing better.”
It’s nice enough to be friendly with the people you work with, but why does it matter? Oregon football players say the connection and willingness to sacrifice for one another gives them the extra edge they need in the biggest moments between the lines.
When all else is equal — be it talent, experience or discipline — the Ducks believe the team with the deepest connection and a willingness to truly sacrifice for one another will win out.
“The connection piece about this team, nobody can come between us,” wide receiver Tez Johnson said. “Whether that’s a receiver hanging out with D-line … or a cornerback hanging out with O-line. You don’t really see stuff like that. That tells you how connected we are as a team. We trust each other.
“We’re willing to go out on that field with each other and die. Literally. That’s how we carry ourselves going into every game.”
CFP quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl
- Who: No. 1 Oregon Ducks (13-0) vs. No. 8 Ohio State (11-2)
- When: Wednesday, Jan. 1
- Time: 2 p.m. PT
- Where: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
- TV channel: ESPN
- Stream: You can watch this game live for FREE with Fubo (free trial) or by signing up for Sling (cheapest streaming plans, $25 off your first month). If you already have cable, you can also watch this game live on Watch ESPN with your cable or satellite provider login information.
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— Ryan Clarke covers the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten Conference. Listen to the Ducks Confidential podcast or subscribe to the Ducks Roundup newsletter.
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