It's pandemonium in Eugene as Dan Lanning and the Ducks get their moment against Ohio State

A beer-soaked gamer from Autzen Stadium.

Autzen is empty, I’m sweaty, covered in beer — someone in the stands has a good arm — and couldn’t be more thrilled to be writing you all this story. Thank you all for being I-5 Corridor subscribers. I hope you enjoyed that one.

Tyson Alger/I-5 Corridor

EUGENE — Dan Lanning had switched back to coach mode. 

The chain he was wearing moments earlier was gone. The sweat that had drenched his brow had been wiped off and a semblance of a voice was beginning to return. 

His No. 3 Oregon Ducks had just beat No. 2 Ohio State in the biggest game in Oregon regular season history, and Lanning was back talking about recruiting and improving and taking every day as it comes. But for a moment, the always forward-looking coach reflected on what just happened. 

“How awesome is Oregon? How awesome is getting to coach at this place?” Lanning said. “Our fans, our players — those guys work so dang hard to get moments like this.” 

What moments? Where to begin?  

The Ducks didn’t just beat Ohio State, they were better than Ohio State. Oregon outgained the Buckeyes 496 to 467. Lanning’s Ducks played better defense than the No. 1 defensive unit in the country. He had the better quarterback in Dillon Gabriel. That offseason spent bringing in hordes of talented receivers played better than Ohio State’s NFL prospects. The 60,129 in attendance — the largest crowd in Autzen Stadium history — were just as damn loud as anything rooted in Blue-Blood Columbus. And that noise only intensified as Lanning tossed his headset into the air as time expired on Oregon’s 32-31 win.

The third-year coach stormed the field just as everyone else. Someone put a chain around him. He was hugged, high-fived, back-slapped and surrounded by an Oregon crowd that had morphed into some sort of liquid. The thousands packing the field moved side to side as one. The cheerleaders lifted the Duck onto their shoulders. Then up went Batman for a crowd surf session. As Lanning attempted to navigate his way to his interview with NBC, the crowd began trickling toward the West end zone as chants that began as “Fuck Ohio!” segued into something more destructive.

“Goalposts! Goalposts! Goalposts!”

Just earlier on the other end of the field, Atticus Sappington had drilled a 19-yard field goal to give Oregon the one-point lead. Needing just a kick for the win, Ohio State got the ball back with 1:47 to play and moved it past midfield before stalling. Facing a third-and-20 with seconds left, Will Howard took the snap, saw nobody open, took off, ran for 12 yards and slid with no time remaining.

There would be no field goal for the Buckeyes — and no goalposts for the Oregon fans who were sent flowing in the opposite direction when Oregon’s security team surrounded the West end zone. The momentary disappointment was quickly subdued by the gravity of the situation.

Three years after beating Ohio State in Columbus with a different coach, with a different quarterback and with a different mentality, the Ducks didn’t just win the rematch — they sent a message to the entire Big Ten.

Yes, Oregon is the school that can promote itself. GameDay was on campus Saturday morning, so too was the Heisman House and that giant inflatable Duck that welcomed everyone to Big Ten media days in Indianapolis back in July. Lanning had a sitdown with NBC Sports during the week. ESPN did a feature on the coach and his wife, Sauphia. On Friday, he spent part of his morning on set with Pat McAfee laughing at jokes about how many nicotine pouches get him through the day. Three years after having to replace yet another coach, Oregon has one whose national popularity only rivals one coach in program history — and that guy, Chip Kelly, was in the box for the Buckeyes coming up empty in big moments against an Oregon defense that, for the second time in a row against Ohio State, was missing its best defensive end.¹

The Ducks limited Ohio State to 142 yards on the ground. Oregon’s offensive line didn’t allow a sack and bulldozed its way through OSU’s front-seven during run-blocking schemes. Jordan James rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown. Gabriel rushed for a touchdown and threw for two more. Evan Stewart caught seven passes for 149 yards and a touchdown. The Ducks were 4-of-5 in the red zone, committed just three penalties and even recovered a surprise onside kick in the first half.

Jordan James (JJ Anderson/I-5 Corridor)

But there were moments in this game where it felt like it was heading down a dark, familiar path. It appeared that Jeffrey Bassa picked off Howard on Ohio State’s first touchdown drive, but it was ruled a completion and the Buckeyes got the next play off before a review or Lanning could challenge. There was a fourth-and-short the Ducks were stuffed on, a pair of fourth downs the Buckeyes converted and, just when it seemed like everything was coming up green in the first half, Traeshon Holden was ejected for spitting on his opponent.

There was never a moment where the Ducks weren’t in this game, but the same could be said for Lanning’s other opportunities for a win like this. In 2023, a combined six points in two losses to Washington cut short an otherwise playoff-bound season. The Huskies got the Ducks in 2022, too.

Coming into Saturday, Lanning had already established himself as a good coach. He won a national title as Georgia’s defensive coordinator. He’s won a Fiesta Bowl, 84 percent of his games and has positioned himself as one of the best recruiters in the country. He had also won a pair of top-10 games against UCLA and Utah back in 2022.

But until Saturday, the memory of Lanning’s Ducks in big games was often associated with the coach’s approach on fourth down, the team’s kicking game, or its inability to stop Michael Penix Jr. Yes, the Ducks were the preseason No. 3 team, but whereas Ohio State looked to be in peak form from Week 1, the Ducks took a journey. They went from No. 3 to No. 7 to No. 9 to No. 8 to No. 6 to No. 3, as a team that began the season on its heels was deadset on improving each week. The Buckeyes came into Eugene as a three-point favorite. There was more scarlet in the Autzen Stadium crowd than any opponent team color that I can remember. And with the new College Football Playoff format, where 12 teams make the postseason as opposed to four, there was a lot of talk about how it would be OK for the Ducks to lose this game. In this era, a loss wouldn’t be crippling — especially against one of the few teams in college football yet to stumble in 2024.

And while that all may be true, trying just to survive and advance isn’t the way to turn your home field into a dance floor like the Ducks did after Saturday’s win.

“It's a fun moment, man, fun. It's a fun moment that I know that everyone in that stadium that's wearing green got to enjoy and celebrate, and everybody that worked so hard got to enjoy,” Lanning said. “And for me, you know the rewarding part is so many other people could share joy in a moment like that. You know, our players, our fans, people, this program means so much … I was glad that they got to have that moment tonight.”

Lanning, of course, eventually transitioned back into being a statesman. He talked about it being a long season with a lot of games left to play. He talked about how good of a team Ohio State is, and how the Ducks would have to keep improving throughout the year. The national championship is legitimately in play now. and there’s a chance Oregon could be No. 1 come Sunday. The poll comes out at 11 a.m. — granted Lanning will likely be off trying to secure Oregon’s next moment by the time it’s released.

As the questions wore on during his press conference, Lanning joked a few times that things needed to hurry up so he could get out recruiting. And before he left, he had one last message for those in the room:

“If you see any good players,” Lanning said. “Tell them to come here.”

— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor

1. Jordan Burch.