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Dillon Gabriel downplays Oregon’s No. 1 ranking entering Week 9

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Dillon Gabriel understands how to take things one game at a time as a veteran contributor. That’s why Oregon’s star quarterback is not going to let the No. 1 ranking distract him as the Ducks get set for Week 9.

Coming out of Week 8, Oregon was flying high with a blowout victory over Purdue to go with the recent win over Ohio State. With other teams around the country faltering, Dan Lanning and his group found themselves as the No. 1 team in the latest AP Poll on Sunday.

It’s a key stretch for the Ducks to be sure, but the job is nowhere close to being finished. That’s the key message Gabriel is trying to get across at this point in the season.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” Gabriel said in an interview with radio host John Canzano. “It’s tough to describe it. We have a clear vision of what our goals are… it doesn’t affect us. We pay no mind.”

That’s certainly what you want to hear from a leader on a team with national title aspirations, and it’s clear Gabriel is not looking past any opponent on the schedule. He already said this week he’s expecting the offense to get a true test when Illinois ventures into Autzen Stadium on Saturday, so he’s locked in on the task at hand.

We’ll see if the Ducks can stay focused, but Gabriel is saying all the right things entering Week 9.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.