The Ducks are the No. 1 team in the nation for the first time since 2012 but head coach Dan Lanning doesn't care about his team's ranking.
In a press conference on Monday, Lanning was asked what it meant to be the leader of the program as they reached this accomplishment, both in the AP Top 25 and the Coaches' Poll. His answer?
"Who cares?"
Who cares. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/CZfS37lpvO
— Alex Stimson (@AlexStimson) October 22, 2024
Lanning has been with Oregon for just three years, taking over the program in 2022 after former head coach Mario Cristobal left for Miami. Since then, he and the Ducks have only gotten better with time.
Over his first two seasons in Eugene, Lanning led the Ducks to a 22-5 overall record. This year, Oregon and its head coach have started the season perfectly, currently sitting at 7-0 as they head into Week 9.
Despite a slightly rocky start to the season and a momentary drop in the polls, Oregon has gradually risen throughout the past few weeks. After taking down then-No. 2 Ohio State and then obliterating Purdue on the road, Oregon secured the No. 1 ranking in the country.
Not to mention, the blowout loss that the then-No. 1 Texas Longhorns suffered at the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs in Week 8 didn't hurt the Ducks' case for being the top-ranked team.
Lanning's dismissal of the media question is by no means a statement that he doesn't care about how well his team is performing or that he isn't excited about the success Oregon is seeing right now. It's a statement that the rankings don't matter to him.
Labels and outside noise have repeatedly been targets of Lanning's dismissals as he tells the Ducks to shut out everyone's opinions and only focus on themselves. FEBU, as the Oregon football team says.