Normally when a CFP contender goes on the road and loses, the quarterback — who also doubles as a Heisman candidate — is the one left to face the music.
Dante Moore didn’t speak with reporters Saturday after Oregon’s upset loss to Oklahoma State, and Dan Lanning turned that absence into a much bigger story than it needed to be during his Monday press conference.
The Oregon Ducks brought just one player to speak with the media following a 39-31 loss at Oklahoma State. OLB Teitum Tuioti.
He blamed the Ducks’ defense’s lack of attention to detail for the poor performance. pic.twitter.com/TGbmLaxILu
— Aaron J. Fentress (@AaronJFentress) September 12, 2026
Asked why Moore — who threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns on 14-of-29 passing in the 39-31 loss — wasn’t at the podium following Saturday’s loss, Lanning offered that Moore was getting treatment and hadn’t skipped talking to reporters by choice.
“I don’t think he chose not to,” Lanning said.
“Did you know he was getting an IV? He was getting two IVs after the game,” Lanning continued, informing the assembled media back in Eugene that Moore had received two IVs after playing in brutal heat and humidity in Stillwater, and was in no condition to be extemporizing about broken coverages while a trainer hunted for a vein. “He was dehydrated. He’ll be speaking to you guys tomorrow. Any questions you want to ask him, you can certainly ask him, but I don’t know if you’ve ever given an interview while you’re getting an IV at the same time and getting treatment.”
Dan Lanning gets HEATED when asked why Dante Moore didn’t show up to his presser after the game Saturday:
“Did you know he was getting two IV’s after the game, he was dehydrated.” pic.twitter.com/367E0B4skZ
— Oregon Updates (@oregon__updates) September 15, 2026
Again, nobody’s asking a dehydrated 21-year-old to conduct a press conference mid-treatment. But Lanning’s tone made clear he was relitigating a slight that, as far as the room could tell, nobody had actually committed.
When The Oregonian pointed out — accurately — that none of this had been relayed to reporters in the moment, Lanning didn’t apologize for the oversight. Instead, he interrogated the questioner. “Should it be?” he shot back, as though informing the media why a starting quarterback didn’t speak with reporters after a road loss was some great imposition. When the reporter tried to clarify that they simply didn’t want to misconstrue Moore’s absence, Lanning told them they’d already done exactly that, then added a sarcastic “good job” for good measure.
I wanted to comment on this. This is correct. We were never notified that Dante was getting an IV. We were told he wasn’t available, and that was 30 minutes after Lanning finished his time with press. https://t.co/K6tCu6yLAE
— Erik Skopil (@Erik_Skopil) September 15, 2026
It’s a strange hill to die on, given that one act of transparency Saturday night would’ve rendered the entire episode moot. But Lanning has bristled at ordinary questions before. And being that he’s a head college football coach in the year 2026, he’ll probably do so again.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.