The city of Indianapolis The Ducks have kicked down one door after another in the Big Ten’s old brick building, from the 50-foot-tall inflatable duck that set the tone for Oregon’s entrance here more than four months ago to Dan Lanning saying the program is quite different.
They are now the formidable champions in their debut year in the storied conference.
After defeating No. 3 Penn State 45-37 in Saturday’s Big Ten championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium, No. 1 Oregon defeated all of the Big Ten’s blue bloods and emerged undefeated. The winner of the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds, who will be revealed on Sunday along with the whole 12-team CFP bracket, will face the Ducks in the Rose Bowl after they punched their ticket as the top seed in the College Football Playoff.
Questions about how to adjust to the toughness of the Big Ten, the difficulties of traveling from the West Coast, Lanning’s performance versus opponents in his first two seasons, and a host of other exaggerated stories or worn-out clichés were all addressed to the Ducks during the offseason.
Oregon improved despite two weeks of terrible offensive line play, being the only FBS team to play eight conference games in eight weeks, having to replace last season’s oldest defensive line in college football, the program’s best receiver, and a first-round draft pick at quarterback.
Dillon Gabriel was brought on by Lanning and his team to replace Bo Nix. Khyree Jackson was replaced as UO’s lockdown cornerback by Jabbar Muhammad. They bolstered a defensive line led by Jordan Burch, who was convinced to come back so he could fulfill his potential, with Derrick Harmon and Jamaree Caldwell.
As a result, the only FBS club without a loss is Oregon (13-0). After passing for four touchdowns against a top-10 pass defense, Gabriel is probably going to be a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. The defense improved in almost all metrics and is either creating more chaos or fewer plays.
The Ducks still have three games left to win to reach their ultimate goal, but Saturday’s victory—Lanning’s first conference title as UO coach—provided the hardware to match the team’s current performance.
“Our players have my utmost admiration,” Lanning remarked. This is what they managed to do. I have nothing to do with that. All I have to do is keep the train moving. Our leadership is amazing. The coaching staff that we have is amazing.
The Big Ten is also difficult. The game tonight, in my opinion, is a fantastic illustration of that. This league is difficult. Going out there and succeeding is difficult. And I’m incredibly proud of our boys’ determination to put in a little bit more to accomplish what they did tonight. Tonight, I felt like everyone went above and above, and it was evident.
With the four touchdowns, Gabriel was 22 of 32 for 283 yards. He also added six carries for 17 yards, including a seven-yard rush on third and one to complete the victory. In addition to being the third-most effective performance against a top-10 pass defense this season, it was the most passing yards by any quarterback and the most recent example of Gabriel’s ability to step up.
“These moments are what you live for,” Gabriel remarked. You dream about these moments and wish you were there when you were a child, throwing in the street or the front yard. When we go to work with these men and see how much time and effort they put into this, I just want to make the most of it.
All you want to do is accurately portray them. And it seemed to me that we did. When I look at this, I see just a group of guys who want to be great and have something to prove. I am grateful for them. I’m grateful that everyone has come together. This group is unique. And if you just stand back and consider the moments we’ve experienced this season, you’ll see that our best players have made great plays during these times. I adore that aspect of it.
It was an offensive slugfest between the top ten defenses.
Kaytron Allen (124 yards) and Nicholas Singleton (105) each exceeded 100 yards as Penn State (11-2) rushed for 292 yards and two scores on just 35 touches. It was the most rushing yards Penn State has given up in a defeat since at least 1999, and the most Oregon had given up in a victory since Arizona State’s 344 on October 29, 2015.
However, the Ducks had two interceptions that helped change the game: Nikko Reed’s pick on a deep toss by Drew Allar down the sideline with 1:54 remaining, and Dontae Manning’s near-pick six that set up Jordan James’ 1-yard score to make it 28-10 with 10:05 remaining in the first half.
Lanning remarked, “I thought the offense did an unbelievable job tonight.” In my opinion, the defense made a crucial stop just when it was needed. However, I will say that our team’s belief remained constant throughout the game. A group of guys that genuinely care about one another put forth a lot of effort tonight in order to emerge victorious. Bravo to them.
Stopping the offense is quite difficult. They perform a fantastic job over there. It was a fight, a fight to the finish.
Despite all of their defensive problems, Oregon was able to limit the effect of Tyler Warren, an All-America tight end with seven catches for 84 yards.
They especially attempted to bracket him somewhat on third down, according to Allar. To be honest, it somewhat facilitated our rearward progressions.
In the meantime, the offensive line, which has been in the lineup the most since the Boise State game, allowed just one sack to one of the nation’s most disruptive defenses and restricted Big Ten defensive player of the year Abdul Carter to six tackles with none for loss.
In addition to Gabriel’s precise and effective flying performance, the Ducks rushed for 183 yards, which is close to a season high given up by Penn State, who will play in the first round of the playoffs on Sunday.
They sped up our defense, to be honest,” defensive tackle Dvon J-Thomas stated. Their offensive coordinator deserves praise for that. They performed a fantastic job of accelerating us. We simply made a lot of blunders, to be honest. They deserve credit for it. The margin of error is so slim when you’re playing at an elite level with a squad that is so skilled.
In my opinion, we made more defensive errors in that game than we had in practically any other. And you are aware that a strong team is responsible for capitalizing. That seems to be what Oregon accomplished today.
Oregon, the self-described team out West, made another statement to the college football heartland when they defeated Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan State in the same year in a divisionless Big Ten.
And it’s not finished.
–The Oregon Ducks and Big Ten are covered by James Crepea. Get the Ducks Roundup email or listen to the Ducks Confidential podcast.
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