The 2025 Oregon football team has had a great year. They are 7-1 and have looked dominant at times this season, with their only loss coming to Indiana. However, in the first College Football Playoff rankings, the Ducks appeared at No. 9. This ranking was surprisingly low, considering the Ducks' performance at times this season, but the resume does not stack up to others. It prompted Dan Lanning to say they need to keep winning.
Dan Lanning appeared on ESPN Radio’s “Amber & Fitz” and discussed how the rankings do not matter yet. His point was that by the end of the year, everything would fall into place correctly. All the Ducks need to do is keep winning, and they will be fine by the end of the year, securing a solid place in the College Football Playoffs.
“I get it,” Lanning said. “It’s based off of where a lot of teams probably fell preseason. Everyone thought that Penn State would be a highly ranked win for us – and I certainly think that Penn State was a capable team. Northwestern ended up being better than other people anticipated, when you start looking at our schedule. there’s no secret. We play some really good teams these last four weeks. Iowa, USC, Washington and Minnesota are all tough teams.
“Kind of like I said before, it all takes care of itself. Just go win. And if you don’t win, that’s on you. So what do we have to do? We have to go win. That’s the secret sauce.”
The Ducks slipped up against Indiana at home, but they have since rattled off two big wins. They dominated Rutgers, 56-10, and then struggled to do much against Wisconsin, but managed to win 21-7 in a rainy game.
Lanning also said that he's not focusing on what the committee says right now because there's still a lot of football left to be played.
“I’ve never spent a lot of time worrying about it,” Lanning said. “I’m sure if we were in a position where every piece of each of their decisions really mattered, then I’d probably focus on it a little bit more. I’ve always felt like you control your own destiny by what you do, and there’s a lot of time left in the season that you’d better worry about what you’ve got to do rather than what somebody else thinks at this point.”
