The No. 1 Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning and the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day sat down to talk to members of the media ahead of their matchup in the College Football Playoffs at the Rose Bowl Game.
Both coaches continuously returned the focus of the conversation to the game itself despite questions being raised about NIL, the structure of the playoffs, recruiting, and more.
"I think college football is going to continue to see change," Lanning said. "It's our job as coaches to continue to adapt... But what an awesome game this is. Our focus is on Ohio State."
Day agreed with Lanning, saying that the Buckeyes' focus was on the Ducks and the big-time rematch ahead of them.
"Oregon certainly, in that game, played a tremendous game and continued to get better as the season went on," Day said. "It's going to come down to the play on the field... it's about matchups."
The game between the two Big Ten powerhouse programs has quickly become the biggest rematch of the season after Oregon upset Ohio State by just one point earlier this season.
"Ultimately, great teams have tendencies, you're supposed to," Lanning said. "It's a little bit of a double-edged sword where, how much do you really wanna change about your team... We're different teams at this point, at Oregon we talk about being the best version of ourselves at the end of the season."
Both coaches talked about making slight changes to their game plans but wanted to highlight where their teams have the best talent, best skills, and best odds to win the game.
"From the day that I've gotten here at Oregon, I've felt like Oregon's really good at innovation," Lanning said. "I'm glad to be at a place that's at the forefront of that."
While Day agreed, he added that culture is a crucial aspect of building a successful collegiate football program, from the high school prospect level to the transfer portal to within the program itself.
The Ducks and the Buckeyes were set to kick off at 2 p.m. PT from the Rose Bowl. The game will be broadcast on ESPN after the first CFP game of the day between Texas and Arizona State.