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In a huge clash between the No. 2 and No. 3 ranked teams in the country, Oregon football knocked off Ohio State in a 32-31 nail biter at Autzen Stadium. With the win, Dan Lanning, Dillon Gabriel and the Ducks cemented themselves as the team to beat in the Big Ten and one of the National Championship favorites.
After the dramatic victory, Lanning was hyped up about the victory and reflected on his spot as the coach in Eugene, according to Jake Trotter of ESPN.
“You can sleep when you die,” Lanning said. “You get an opportunity to do this, like the day that we had today, how awesome is Oregon? How awesome is getting to coach at this place? Our fans, our players, those guys work so dang hard to get moments like this.”
Lanning and the Ducks have a relatively light schedule for the rest of Big Ten play, as they avoided No. 4 Penn State on the schedule. They play two more games this season against ranked opponents, against No. 23 Illinois on Oct. 26 and at No. 24 Michigan on Nov. 2.
Oregon football shows off balance in win vs. Ohio State
Beating Ohio State on any field in any fashion is an impressive win, but Oregon's balance on both sides of the ball on Saturday night was something to behold.
The defense was far from perfect, but they were effective against the run in the second half, holding the Buckeyes in check after a long run from TreVeyon Henderson early in the game. The Ducks got hurt in the passing game a few times by the elite weapons that Ohio State has on the outside, specifically Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith, but they came up big when it mattered and didn't allow Ohio State to score a touchdown over the final 20 minutes of the game.
Offensively, the balance shined throughout the night and kept the Ohio State defense on their heels all night. Jordan James and the running game were effective against the stout Ohio State front, running for 155 yards on just 31 carries, Just when the Ohio State defense started to key on James, Dillon Gabriel pulled a zone read and scampered 27 yards for a go-ahead touchdown.
Gabriel was also effective in the passing game, making good decisions and mixing it up with short passes and shots downfield. For the game, he finished 23-for-34 with 341 yards and two touchdowns through the air to go with his score on the ground.
If the Ducks can keep up this level of complementary football and play well in all aspects of the game, they have a chance to cruise through the rest of their schedule and get to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship game with an undefeated record. It won't always be easy to rise to the occasion, but they have shown that they can win whether they play their best football or not.
