Dan Lanning shares message he gives to his team after first playoff rankings

Oregon opened at No. 6 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings this season on Tuesday. However, following the release, Dan Lanning remains focused on something else entirely when it comes to his Ducks.

Lanning quickly addressed his team’s ranking during his coaches show on Wednesday. He, like many coaches, recognized that this first ranking only holds so much weight with a month left to go in the season. That means, to remain in their favorable position, they have one objective and one objective only – win.

“Just win, right? All of our goals are in front of us if we just win,” said Lanning.

Even so, Lanning went on to explain that Oregon’s minds shouldn’t be on the outcome of being victorious. He needs them locked in on the details that lead to winning so as to ensure that they’re where they need to be by the time the committee selects the four-team field.

“If you focus on just winning? You’re not going to get that done. You have to focus on the process that makes winning happen,” said Lanning.

At 7-1, Oregon is the highest-rated one-loss team in the initial rankings. Much of that has to do with the fact that the one defeat came on the road by three points to the team that’s currently one spot ahead of them in No. 5 Washington.

With four games left and a likely spot in the Pac-12 Championship ahead of them, the goal is plain as day up in Eugene. Lanning knows that, if they continue to stack wins how he wants them to, the Ducks are going to be very hard to ignore once the field is set at the end of the season.

“We know that if we take care of business? The rest will be sitting in front of us,” Lanning said.

Urban Meyer circles Oregon as the team that could make the most noise in November

In the eyes of the College Football Playoff committee, Oregon is currently the best one-loss team in the country. Dan Lanning‘s squad has only lost to Washington on the road and has been beating up on every other team on their schedule.

Debuting in the ranking at No. 6, only undefeated contenders ahead of the Ducks.

To Urban Meyer, though, Oregon is way better than the No. 6 team in the country. When looking at the tape, you would have a tough time convincing Meyer that anybody is playing better at the moment other than the Ducks.

“Oregon might be the best team in the country,” Meyer said on ‘Urban’s Take’ with On3’s Tim May. “Just on videotape?? Offense, defense, kicking. That’s the way they play. They play really hard, they’re really well coached but they lost. So, I’m a head coach, going to say ‘Just don’t lose because we have a great team’. But you did lose.”

“On video tape, Oregon might be the best team in the country,” stated Meyer.