Pac-12 Media Day: Good to great the focus for Oregon football's offseason improvement strategy

Oregon’s offseason self-improvement plan didn’t just include time on the practice field or in the weight room.
There was a reading assignment in the form of the book “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t" by Jim Collins, as well as a deep dive into every aspect of the program using the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis method.
The point? After the Ducks went 10-3 in 2022 during his first season in Eugene, including a win in the Holiday Bowl against North Carolina, coach Dan Lanning is doing whatever he can to help Oregon be better in 2023.
“It was really fun,” Lanning said Friday during his time on the stage at Pac-12 football Media Day at Resorts World in Las Vegas. “You get to peel back the layers … and I think our guys did a really good job of breaking that down and figuring out what we can really lean into, what we have to improve on and what can get in the way of our success.”
Pac-12 preseason media poll picks Oregon to finish fourth in conference
Oregon opens the season at noon on Sept. 2 at Autzen Stadium against Portland State. The Ducks' first Pac-12 game is Sept. 23 at home against Colorado.
They’ll head into the start of fall camp the first week of August as the team picked to finish fourth in the preseason Pac-12 media poll after receiving 344 points and one of the 36 first-place votes.
The Ducks will also start their season with more than 50 newcomers on the roster, Lanning said, though they won’t lack experience at the most important position on the field.
Oregon Ducks quarterback Bo Nix speaks during Pac-12 Media Day at Resorts World Las Vegas on July 21.
Starting quarterback Bo Nix returns for his fifth season of college football and second at Oregon. He started all 13 games last fall, passing for 3,593 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also rushed for 510 yards and 14 scores and caught a TD pass.
“I’m really excited to be that guy that people can lean on and look up to,” said Nix, who was named preseason all-Pac-12 honorable mention earlier in the week, one of 14 Ducks to garner preseason recognition by conference media members.
Ducks' defense expected to be stronger
Defensively, junior linebacker Jeffrey Bassa said he expects the Ducks to be a better unit than the one that was fifth in the conference with an average of 27.4 points per game and fourth with an average of 318.15 yards allowed per game.
“I think the defense is tremendously improved from what I’ve seen in spring,” Bassa said. “From the big boys up front to the guys in the (inside linebacker) room and the guys in the back end as well. I think guys did a tremendous job this offseason putting weight in their bodies and coming in with the right mindset every day. Right now we’re just focused on heading into camp healthy and ready to grind throughout fall camp.”
Oregon Ducks quarterback Bo Nix speaks during Pac-12 Media Day at Resorts World Las Vegas on July 21.
The Ducks’ two conference losses were by a combined seven points to Washington (37-34) and Oregon State (38-34) and the sting of those November defeats — which kept Oregon out of the College Football Playoff — still stung through the offseason.
“We’ve been working hard on discipline and consistency,” Nix said. “Ultimately as a team we were so close last year. We want to go from good to great this year and we’ve talked about it a lot this offseason.”
Southern California, which returns Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Caleb Williams, was the resounding choice to win the conference as the Trojans received 413 points and 25 first-place votes. Washington was picked second with 367 points and four first-place votes, and reigning Pac-12 champion Utah was third with 359 points and six first-place votes.
After the Ducks were No. 5 Oregon State (309), No. 6 UCLA (248), No. 7 Washington State (186), No. 8 Arizona (176), No. 9 California (132), No. 10 Arizona State (122), No. 11 Colorado (98) and No. 12 Stanford (54).