The Oregon Ducks Dropped to No. 3 in the AP?... Good. 

During the latest edition of “Ducks vs Them” the coaching staff played a clip of Jocko Willink called, ‘Good,’ and as the clock ticked down at the Rose Bowl and Penn State was about to lose to 0-4 UCLA, I couldn’t help but think back on that iconic video that Head Coach Dan Lanning has used to instill an attitude of growth and perseverance in his players. 

“When things are going bad, don’t get all bummed out,” said Willink. “Don’t get startled, don’t get frustrated. No. Just look at the issue and say, ‘Good.” If you can say the word “good,” then guess what? It means you’re still alive. It means you’re still breathing. And if you’re still breathing, that means you’ve still got some fight left in you. So get up, dust off, reload, recalibrate, re-engage – and go out on the attack.”

Dan Lanning and his team just lost their only win against a ranked opponent?… Good.  Penn State looked completely inept against one of the worst teams in all of the FBS?… Good.  Oregon dropped to #3 in the AP poll and some people are starting to question how good Dante Moore and the Ducks actually are?….. Good. 

This is an opportunity, and Dan Lanning will use it

Not only is Penn State losing to UCLA unimportant in the playoff picture, but it’s also actually a good thing for the team. The Ducks have had a lot of “rat poison” as some would call it. Dante Moore has gotten a lot of hype as potentially the favorite to win the Heisman and get drafted in the top 5 of the NFL draft. Some analysts have called them the best team in college football. That kind of hype can start to seep into the minds of players, especially against weaker opponents. 

Typically, that’s not the case for Lanning coached teams though. The Ducks are undefeated against unranked opponents under Lanning and much of that is attributed to the way that Lanning motivates his players before every game, regardless of opponent. Do you think for a second that he won’t snatch up this doubt that some have put on Oregon after they struggled to beat Penn State on the road during a whiteout? 

The Head Coach of the Ducks never misses an opportunity to use whatever methods are at his disposal to motivate his team and foster an “us vs them” mentality. “FEBU” as Lanning puts it. But he also never misses an opportunity to “go to the doctor,” and diagnose any issues that need to be addressed. This highlights the difference in attitude between Lanning and a coach like James Franklin. 

Franklin had nothing but excuses after the shocking loss to UCLA, “Obviously we did not handle last week’s loss well. We also lost some players in that game, during the week, and then everything else… everything else… the travel… everything else. Did not come out with the right energy to start the game and before you know it, obviously, they get a touchdown drive, an onside kick, and now you’re fighting. They gain confidence and we’re fighting for the next three quarters, so that’s my responsibility and I didn’t get it done.” 

Compare that to what Lanning said after the loss to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl when he was asked about the long layoff before the playoff game, “yeah I think that’s an excuse. I thought our guys prepared well going in, obviously they had a better plan than us, but that’s an excuse. That’s an opportunity that we had to recharge, I thought our guys did practice well. I’d tell ya if that wasn’t the case. I thought they had great focus. I just don’t think our plan was good enough and I think they had a great plan to attack us so credit to those guys.” 

Lanning was also asked about the playoff format and the path that Oregon had to face as the #1 seed. “We had an opportunity, we didn’t take advantage of our opportunity. I’m not going to make excuses for our opportunity, alright. And then ultimately you have to beat great teams to be in position at the end of the year and we didn’t do that. This was the road that we had to travel and they did it better than us tonight, so no complaints for us for having that opportunity. They just took advantage of it and we didn’t.”

That is how Dan Lanning approaches football. Wins or losses. Success or adversity. It does not matter to Lanning because he looks at everything as an opportunity. 

Penn State losing does not matter… for now

On Sunday morning the updated rankings started to drop, and so did Penn State. The former #2 team in the country was now unranked. The AP had dropped the Nittany Lions (and Texas) completely out of the top 25. The Ducks also dropped during their bye week, falling to #3. That was to be expected. Miami had just beaten Florida State and now has wins over #25 FSU, Florida, #24 South Florida, and #16 Notre Dame. 

It made sense for Miami to move past Oregon in the rankings, and the Hurricanes have a pretty compelling case to be #1 when you consider that Ohio State’s best win is against unranked Texas. With that said, these rankings do not matter right now. Oregon only needs to continue winning to make the playoffs. There is no doubt that they would be a top 4 team if they win out and beat whichever team makes it to the Big Ten Championship. 

The Ducks control their own destiny. This is not the old days when a weak schedule or a loss to a rival would knock you out of the playoffs. Oregon can shrug off the Penn State disaster and move on to Indiana, who is now ranked #7 in the country. Beat the Hoosiers and the Ducks have a legitimate case for #2 again. While their schedule might not offer another ranked opponent this season (Washington might creep into the top 25), it should not matter in the grand scheme of things. Just win out.