Conference realignment triggering Oregon to Big Ten move has Dan Lanning unfazed, aims to enjoy "pieces of flavor" in new league

After the conference realignment, the Oregon Ducks and coach Dan Lanning announced their entry into the Big Ten, floating a huge inflatable duck down the Indianapolis River during the media days. The confident coach also gave a speech highlighting the unique nature of the Oregon program during his opening address at the event.

The Ducks will have to acclimate to a different and more physical style of play that permeates the Big Ten and will test the championship credentials of Lanning's team.

During an interview on the "Joel Klatt Show," the confident Oregon coach was not fazed by the move to a new conference, instead showing optimism about the conference realignment move.

"I think there are pieces of flavor that are really similar," Lanning said. "We had some teams that played a physical brand of football in Utah and Oregon State but certainly Michigan is different with the brand of football they play.

"The weather is going to come into play a little bit more with some of the places we'll travel and the times of the year we'll be traveling there."

Dan Lanning reveals benefits of conference realignment move

The conference realignment and expansion games that pushed the Oregon Ducks and coach Dan Lanning to the Big Ten from the Pac-12 have presented a unique set of benefits and challenges for the team.

On the "Joel Klatt Show," the outspoken Ducks coach spoke about the challenges that his team will face, including the physicality of the conference.

"Entering this conference, there's some new challenges that are presented," Lanning said. “A lot of people ask me, what's different about going to the Big Ten? I hear it's a lot more physical. I'll tell you here at Oregon, we chase and attack those challenges."

The Oregon Ducks lost the Pac-12 championship game to the Washington Huskies last year, denying them a chance to be included in the four-team college football playoff.

Alongside conference realignment and expansion games, the college football playoff has also been expanded to 12 teams and the Ducks are favored to be part of that elite group next season.

One of the ways to join the elite teams in college football is via top-notch recruitment and Dan Lanning revealed that moving to the Big Ten would give his team a leg up in that regard.

"We've always been a team that's recruited nationally, but it's (move to Big Ten) certainly made our footprint stronger here in the Midwest," Lanning said.

"We've always recruited East Coast to West Coast, but now having some of those games played in venues that are close to the players we're recruiting certainly helps."

With the Oregon Ducks named second-favorites (+210) for the Big Ten championship by Fanduel, a lot of attention will be directed at Dan Lanning to make it big this season.