The first College Football Playoff ranking release on Nov. 3 featured the surprise inclusion of the Oregon Ducks at No. 23.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning finished his Wednesday media appearance by responding to a question about his thoughts on the ranking. To little surprise, Lanning kept the focus on his team’s upcoming battle against the No. 12 Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus.

“Yeah, I mean, I'll be honest. I didn't even know that was happening yesterday,” Lanning said. “Of course, somebody texted to you, but like that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter unless we do what we need to do. And we haven't talked to our players about. I'm not going to talk to our players about it. Like, let's go play this game.”

Any chance the Ducks have of making the CFP hinges on winning out. Lanning’s lack of enthusiasm over the first ranking reveal reflects the stakes of the upcoming matchup: That number goes away and won’t come back if they don’t win on Saturday.

Lanning also spent his Wednesday presser discussing what he’s seen from true freshman running back Brandon Smith and freshman offensive lineman Tommy Tofi, both of whom spoke to the media on Wednesday, as well as the talent on the field for Saturday’s game.

What Dan Lanning Said Ahead of Ohio State

Opening Statement:

“All right. Good day today. I mean, a lot of good energy from our players, and it's necessary in a game like this. You're driving to a hostile environment with a team that has as much talent as anybody in the country, and they do a really good job overall as a as a program in all three phase.”

“So, had to be prepared for a lot of looks, a lot of different scheme, knowing where players are at, knowing what fronts they're in. So, it's going to be a real challenge for us, especially with the talent that they have. But it was a good day, got a good attack for us.”

What Stands Out About Running Back Brandon Smith:

“Yeah, I see we see that every single day in practice from Brandon, and I think he's done what a lot of our young players have done that have been able to come in and make an impact. As you start with a small role, and then that role grows over time as trust builds.”

“As you see, you know what they're able to do. And I think, again, kind of like what I alluded to last week, what's really impressive about that is you're not always getting every rep in practice, but then to be able to go execute in a game, something you maybe ran one time or didn't walk through a rep, and then be able to execute at a really high level just speaks to the natural football player he is and the skill set he has.”

Settling on an Offensive Line Unit:

“Yeah, I think we're still identifying strengths as we go through, but this is a group that's been cohesive kind of the last two weeks. I think this we've had a better done a better job of moving bodies up front, which I think is really where it always starts.”

“You talk about winning the line of scrimmage, and some of those were just necessary reps to get us to the point to where we felt like we had that. The reality is the O-line that we're playing with right now might not be the O-line that we continue to play with the entire year, just because we know how football plays, right?”

“Injuries may happen, matchups may happen. I think the competition has really helped us at those positions. That those guys feeling like they're battling every single day to go out there and play, knowing that nothing's guaranteed, and it's about what you do each day.”

“And it goes a little bit back to what I talked about, also of having that assassin mentality as opposed to a superhero mentality. There's times that we've been poor this season because we're trying to get a knockout shot rather than just do our job.”

“And I think this group's probably been the most consistent right now with that. Of okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna do my job. I'm gonna do what's necessary for the team. I don't have to do anything extraordinary. I just gotta do that.”

Brandon Smith Balancing Confidence With Staying Focused Amid the Outside Noise:

“Yeah. Again, we try not to pay attention to outside noise. I don't know. I'm sure Brandon's aware that people are high on his performance, but in football, it's about what you do every single day. My confidence in Brandon comes from what I see him doing in practice every day. Not from what somebody on Twitter says.”

If the NFL-Level Talent Adds Juice to the Matchup:

“Yeah, I think they know that Ohio State's a good team; that they have a lot of players across the board in every position. I don't think that changes the juice or the level. I think the excitement is getting to play a team like Ohio State.”

“But certainly that there's matchups across the board where you're like, okay, this it's about a bunch of guys winning their one-on-one in this game, and you got guys that have equal talent or better talent in some positions. Like, it's going to be a guy that wants it a little bit more, that strains a little bit more.”

What He’s Seen From Offensive Linemen Douglas Utu and Tommy Tofi:

“Yeah, a lot of that. Tommy had a really good fall, or, you know, Tommy and Doug, but Doug had a really good fall camp and kind of had a little bit of a setback, but a little getting banged up early. And I feel like he's really come back into himself.”

“The guy that we saw a lot in fall camp and continues to take big strides, has intelligence. That's the big piece for him. And then Tommy is a guy that we've had a lot of confidence in from the beginning. It's more about okay, can we be assignment sound? There's a lot of moving pictures on defense. Where's that getting? He's gotten better and better.”

“I think the guys around him have communicated really well, but he's got good strength, got the ability to move people, which is huge. Now it's about finding that extra strain. Can I strain from every play?”

“And I feel like every week that's gotten a little bit better for Tommy. Of in high school, he was able to move whoever's across him without much effort. Right now, in college, like there's great effort across from you, especially this week with what we'll see on the D-line from Ohio State.”

“That it's going to take just a little bit more, a little more effort, a little bit more time. And he's shown that throughout practice. But that's where he wants to grow, too. He knows that something has to show up.”

Offensive Lineman Tommy Tofi’s Development Since Spring:

“Yeah, I think all those guys that are creating roles for themselves have seen the natural progression for other players in our program. Like, Josh Conerly didn't start at tackle for us the day he got here. But he got a touchdown pass against Colorado. He did a couple things on field goal.”

“He was in different units, and that developed over time became part of a big package. You know, so I don't think you never force that as a coach. But what's happened is he's had a natural progression. He's built off the spring and into the summer, and now gotten some more of those exotic looks that make it challenging as an O-lineman, and has put together some good games.”