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Oregon responds to win against Ohio State

Vaseline October 13, 2024

Dan Lanning entered the press room after the game looking like a man who had just been cheerfully and chaotically harassed by tens of thousands of satisfied customers – smiling, sweaty and with a gleam in his eye.

“Does anyone have a heart rate monitor?” he asked.

It was such a game and such a moment for Oregon football and its third-year coach, who earned the biggest win of his Duck career on Saturday when No. 3 Oregon defeated No. 2 Ohio State 32-31 in Front were 60,129 people – the largest crowd ever to fill Autzen Stadium – many of whom stormed the pitch after victory was secured.

And that lasted until the very last game, when the Ducks (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) and Buckeyes (5-1, 2-1) traded the lead seven times, including four times in the second half and three times in the second half. the fourth quarter alone.

The winning points came with 1 minute, 47 seconds to play on a 19-yard field goal by Atticus Sappington.

“What an incredible atmosphere tonight,” Lanning said. “We’ve been talking to our players all week about taking shots. It’s not about throwing haymakers.

“This game is such an emotional game, it’s such an impactful game and in moments like these when you want to be filled with complete joy, relief is one of the greatest feelings you feel.”

The scene on the field after the game — the first between two top-5 teams in the stadium’s history — was wild, a handful of Oregon players said, even for someone like cornerback Jabbar Muhammad, who was with Washington a season ago when the Huskies played in the College Football Playoff championship game.

“To be part of the victory in this way is very special,” Muhammad said. “It’s something you dream about. It’s something you write down at the beginning of the year when you achieve your goals. To be part of a win like this with this team is special.”

Ohio State was the highest-ranked team Oregon has ever defeated, matching its win against No. 2 Florida State in the 2015 Rose Bowl.

“It was a lot of fun,” said quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who went 23-for-34 for 341 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a 27-yard score. “Winning is fun, and there’s a lot of joy in winning, to be honest. We know this is a step in the right direction for us and a big win because we played against a great team. … We’re going to enjoy it. Tomorrow we have a recovery circuit, we have to wake up like everyone else. The sun will rise tomorrow and you have to earn it.

Gabriel said he was on the edge of his seat watching from the sideline during the Buckeyes’ final drive as they tried to get into field goal position in the final minute. They indeed did so, but were knocked back from the Oregon 28 to the 43 on an offensive pass interference penalty. Three plays later, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard found himself scrambling and sliding in the middle of the field as time expired.

“You’re talking about a heavyweight fight,” Lanning said. “It was a heavyweight fight, this game. … When you play against a really good team, you have to be able to compete in tight games like this. We played aggressive tonight, we played to win the game and our guys went out there and on executed at critical moments.”

Next up for the Ducks is a road trip to Purdue for a 5 p.m. game on Friday. Muhammad said the Ducks can only celebrate the win at Ohio State for so long before the short week of preparation begins.

“Obviously we’re trying to enjoy it tonight, but we’ll get back to it tomorrow,” Muhammad said. “We’re playing Friday next week, so we’ll probably nip this one in the bud and watch film at Purdue.”

Chris Hansen covers University of Oregon football, men’s basketball, track and field, cross country and softball for The Register-Guard. You can reach him on X @chansen_RG or by email at [email protected].