Canzano: Oregon Ducks breakthrough win vs. Ohio State is a beginning
Ducks win 32-31.
EUGENE — Oregon fans stormed the field. Chip Kelly stormed the press box elevator. A wild Saturday night ended in a surreal scene at Autzen Stadium.
Final: Oregon 32, Ohio State 31.
The biggest win of the Dan Lanning era.
No question mark there. None needed. Because Lanning’s Ducks took possession of the Big Ten Conference penthouse with a gritty, gutsy, never-say-die victory at Autzen Stadium. It wasn’t perfect. Nor easy. But the win came just the same, and it was accompanied by some national respect for the UO program.
Kelly, Ohio State’s mercenary play-caller, was down by a point when his offense got the ball. He had 107 seconds, a timeout, and a trusted kicker. I don’t blame you if you shook your head, turned off the TV, and headed to bed. Or maybe just covered your eyes with the sofa pillows.
Kelly vs. the Ducks defense with the game on the line?
I’d wondered all week if it would come down to the grandmaster chess player against his old school. We’d seen Kelly win a pile of games during his tenure in Eugene. He and Buckeyes’ head coach Ryan Day presented a formidable challenge for Lanning and his youthful staff, particularly defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi.
Lupoi is an elite recruiter who happens to also be Oregon’s defensive playcaller. Kelly loathes recruiting but can work the back of a napkin at a coaching clinic with the best around. That contrast and the sky-high stakes provided terrific theater on Saturday.
It wasn’t lost on me that Oregon’s Jabbar Muhammad, a transfer cornerback from Washington, deflected a critical pass on the second-to-last play of the game. Or that when Ohio State quarterback Will Howard decided to tuck the ball and run with the final seconds ticking away, he was being chased by players Lupoi recruited, developed, and put on the field.
Howard ran, slid, and then looked up at the clock.
Timeout?
Too late — “0:00.”
Fans jumped the rails and surged onto the field. The game officials looked at each other and ran for the tunnel. Howard looked dejected. Then, Kelly and the rest of the Ohio State assistants got up from their seats in the coaching box, headed for the elevator, and made a quiet trip down to the visiting locker room.
Meanwhile, Lanning waded through screaming fans and celebrating players. Police officers, trying to escort him off the field, pushed through the crowd. Someone draped a large chain with a giant “O” around his head and neck.
“We played aggressive tonight,” Lanning said later. “We played to win the game.”
Oregon outrushed Ohio State.
It outpassed the Buckeyes, too.
It should be no surprise that the Ducks outscored them and won the game. Except maybe for those who have closely followed the program and watched it fall short in games just like these in the last couple of seasons.
Experts will tell you there are a variety of ways to get personal growth. You can read books, for example. Or take an online class. Or you can live through some pain, do a deep self-examination, and grow. It looked to me on Saturday night that Oregon had a breakthrough moment. Lanning also acknowledged the post-game mood could have very easily been different.
If Ohio State kicks a game-winning field goal at the end of regulation, for example, we’re probably sitting here wondering why Lanning didn’t kick an easy field goal earlier in the game himself. Or what went wrong with a couple of extra points? Or why Lanning didn’t call a timeout in the first quarter and give the replay crew a chance to review an apparent Oregon interception? And what was with the spitting incident and ejection?!?!
Instead, a euphoric victory celebration. That’s all. But that’s how football works, and on Saturday, Lanning found himself on the right side of a dicey outcome, grinning and winning.
What now?
Said Lanning: “The team we are on Oct. 12 isn’t going to be the team we are in December.”
That’s the point, isn’t it? Beating Ohio State with the world watching was big stuff for Oregon. But there are a couple of critical months left in the season. Saturday’s win needs to be followed by growth, consistent play — and possibly — a conference title rematch with the Buckeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in December.
That’s where the season is headed, isn’t it?
I’ve spent more than two decades covering college football in the state. I watched Michigan and Oklahoma come to Autzen Stadium years ago. Maybe you did, too. Those were billed as big-time games. But Saturday’s heavyweight contest vs. Ohio State felt even bigger and more significant — maybe because it was delayed a couple of years by a pandemic and underscored by months of hype. Or maybe because nobody seemed sure the Ducks could win it.
UO students camped outside overnight in Eugene for ESPN’s College GameDay. Lanning said the fans were so loud at Autzen Stadium that he had to cover his ears at critical points of the game so he could hear in his headset.
“They never stopped being loud,” Lanning said.
Quarterback Dillon Gabriel threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns. He ran for another on a 27-yard scamper in the fourth quarter. Gabriel was calm, poised, and effective. His speedy receivers ran by the Ohio State defensive backs all game, making big play after big play.
Remember Lanning’s first game as Oregon’s head coach three seasons ago? It was a 49-3 beat down vs. Georgia that ended shortly after kickoff. That was a knockout. When Lanning left the field that first night in Atlanta, he looked stunned. Winning a regular-season football game against a perennial national power felt so far away.
In his second season, I saw Lanning lose twice to Washington in high-stakes games. After the first defeat in Seattle — one that Oregon should have won — I passed Lanning in a stadium hallway after the game. He just shook his head and looked disgusted.
Don’t let anyone fool you.
The win on Saturday was a catharsis for the program (and its coach). Lanning and the Ducks had been in this position three times before and left the stadium each time empty-handed. They weren’t perfect against the Buckeyes. The Ducks know they can play better. But seeing Oregon walk off a winner in a game of this magnitude was new.
Like it was the start of something.
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That was a hell of a football game. Both teams made mistakes, that's football. But it's incredible that Oregon outrushed and outpassed Ohio State. Yeah, I think we'll be just fine in the trenches, thank you very much. Best win since we smoked Florida State and Jameis Winston.
Congrats John on your pick "The pick: Oregon 31, Ohio State 30". You nailed the point spread and missed the exact score by only one point! (room for improvement :))
The Ducks need to keep their webfoot on the gas pedal. Purdue stood up to Illinois today and might not be a pushover at home next Friday.
Go Ducks!