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Oregon responds and wins against Ohio State

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Oregon responds and wins against Ohio State

Dan Lanning entered the postgame press room looking like a man who had just been joyfully and chaotically mobbed by tens of thousands of happy customers – smiling, sweaty and with a gleam in his eye.

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

It was a game like that and a moment like that 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 of 60,129 spectators — the largest crowd ever to fill Autzen Stadium — many of whom stormed the field after victory was assured.

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

The winning points came with 1 minute and 47 seconds left in the game 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 jabs. It’s not about throwing haystacks.”

“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-five teams in the stadium's history — was wild, a handful of Oregon players said, even for someone like cornerback Jabbar Muhammad, who played for Washington a season ago , when the Huskies played in the College Football Playoff championship game.

“To be part of a victory like this is really 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 that with this team is special.”

Ohio State was the highest-ranked team to ever beat Oregon, including defeating No. 2 Florida State in the 2015 Rose Bowl.

“It was a lot of fun,” said quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who completed 23 of 34 passes for 341 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a 27-yard score. “Winning is fun and to be honest, winning brings a lot of joy. 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 to wake up, just like everyone else. That's the beauty of the game we play.

Gabriel said he was “on the edge of his seat” watching the Buckeyes' final drive from the sideline as they tried to get into field goal position in the final minute. They actually did, but were set back 28 to 43 by an Oregon offensive pass interference penalty. Three plays later, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard stumbled in the middle of the field and slipped 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 fight in close games like this. We played aggressively tonight, we played to win the game and our guys went out there and executed in critical moments.

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

“Of course we'll try to enjoy it tonight, but let it be, we'll be right back at it tomorrow,” Muhammad said. “We play Friday next week, so we’ll probably nip that in the bud and start watching a movie 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 [email protected].

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WATCH: Dan Lanning speaks after No. 3 Oregon beats No. 2 Ohio State

Oregon football coach Dan Lanning speaks after No. 3 Oregon defeated No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday night at Autzen Stadium in Eugene.

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