Dan Lanning reacts to Oregon's ranking in first College Football Playoff Top 25: 'We have to go win'

When the first College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings released Tuesday, Oregon sat at No. 9. The Ducks take a 7-1 record into their final four games out of a bye, with a loss to No. 2 Indiana as their lone blemish.

After the reveal show, Oregon coach Dan Lanning reacted to the fact his team and Notre Dame generated plenty of debate, according selection committee chair Mack Rhoades. Lanning pointed out the parity this season, especially with top teams such as Penn State – viewed as one of the Ducks’ top opponents in the preseason – struggling.

However, he added the most important task hasn’t changed for the final four weeks of the season. Lanning said Oregon still needs to win and stay in the mix.

“I get it,” Lanning said on ESPN Radio’s Amber & Fitz. “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.”

Dan Lanning: ‘You control your own destiny by what you do’

Since the loss to Indiana, Oregon rattled off back-to-back wins before the bye. That includes a resounding 56-10 win at Rutgers, which saw the Ducks total 750 yards of offense. They then had a hard time scoring in a rain-soaked, 21-7 home victory over Wisconsin.

As the College Football Rankings continue to update, Dan Lanning said he’s not focusing on what the committee says. There’s too much football left to play, and his team needs to put itself in position.

“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.”