oregon football Dan Lanning

ATHENS — Oregon coach Dan Lanning continues to be impressed with his team’s growth with the season-opener against Georgia approaching.

The No. 11-ranked Ducks held their second fall scrimmage on Saturday, and Lanning came away with a positive overall impression.

“I thought our guys were really physical today, and that was really pleasing,” Lanning said. “That was something I was really pleased with, was the physicality of the play.

“There was a lot less thinking out there; there was a lot more playing, which is what you want.”

Oregon is an 18-point underdog to No. 3-ranked Georgia in what will be both teams’ season-opening game when they meet at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Lanning, the former Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator, knows he will need his team in top form to beat a deeply talented Kirby Smart team.

The Oregon scrimmage got so physical on Saturday that Lanning said he considered backing off the tackling and just having the players go “thud” technique, which stops short of players taking one another to the ground.

There were four interceptions between all of the Oregon quarterbacks in the program’s Saturday scrimmage at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, but Lanning saw his offense making plays when the defense wasn’t.

“Offense moved the ball really well early, and really kind of throughout the scrimmage,” Lanning said. “Defense did a really good job of attacking the ball. ... there were a lot of guys that flew around and made some plays.”

Lanning said it will be key for the Ducks to finish drives.

“I would have told you the offensive line was really moving down the field, especially running the ball, “ Lanning said. “But we didn’t get to cap off some of those drives because of turnovers.”

The Ducks’ ability to run the football will be pivotal to their chances to pull off an upset, as Smart has explained how making teams one-dimensional allows the defense to pun back its ears and go after the quarterback in obvious pass situations.

Oregon returns a veteran offensive line, while Georgia is replacing five first-round NFL draft picks off its defense, four of which came out of its front seven.

Lanning knows the Bulldogs have recruited well, as he was a key part of bringing many of the talented players to Athens.

All the more reason why he knows Oregon needs to sharpen its edges and be ready for a battle in Atlanta.

“We got better today, absolutely, we got better today,” Lanning said. “There’s a lot to clean up, but today was a good day of practice.”

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