EUGENE, Ore. — After main Oregon on the go-ahead drive, Dillon Gabriel sat on the Geese’ bench along with his headset on, barely in a position to lookup with the ultimate seconds ticking away and Ohio State driving.
A couple of minutes later, the Oregon quarterback emerged from the victorious locker room dancing, taking all of it in with the followers who stormed the sphere. He ended the evening by singing throughout his postgame information convention.
In his first large sport since transferring to Oregon through the offseason, Gabriel delivered, as his third-ranked Geese prevailed in Saturday’s thrilling 32-31 victory over the second-ranked Buckeyes.
“All of us knew we have been getting a dogfight, two heavyweights going at it,” Gabriel mentioned. “That is what school soccer is all about.”
Few lively gamers know extra about school soccer than Gabriel, who made his fifty fifth profession begin Saturday. Gabriel, who beforehand performed for UCF and Oklahoma, opened the season because the Heisman betting favourite. After a sluggish begin, he emphatically reinserted his identify into the Heisman dialog with a scintillating efficiency in a Large Ten showdown in opposition to the Buckeyes.
Gabriel accomplished 23 of 34 passes for 341 yards and two touchdowns. He scored the ultimate landing of the sport, dashing for 27 yards on a wonderful pretend handoff that fooled the Ohio State protection within the fourth quarter.
With that rating, Gabriel grew to become the primary FBS participant to cross for 125 touchdowns and rush for 30 in his profession.
“Each time I went and checked out his eyes tonight, I noticed a man who was composed and prepared for his subsequent second,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning mentioned. “He performed actually, very well tonight and had some actually large moments.”
The most important second got here on Oregon’s closing drive. The Geese trailed 31-29 with six minutes to play. However Gabriel accomplished all 5 of his passes for 41 yards. The drive finally stalled on the Ohio State 1-yard line, however Atticus Sappington nailed a 19-yard discipline purpose to provide the Geese the lead with 1:47 to play.
Ohio State had its probability to win the sport, marching the ball to the Oregon 28. However freshman extensive receiver Jeremiah Smith was flagged for offensive cross interference, which pushed the Buckeyes out of discipline purpose vary. On the ultimate play, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard scrambled down the center of the sphere and slid as a substitute of taking a shot into the top zone, as time expired and Oregon college students and followers started pouring on the sphere.
“[Gabriel] confirmed toughness,” mentioned Oregon extensive receiver Tez Johnson, who hauled in a 48-yard landing from Gabriel on third-and-9 late within the second quarter, giving the Geese a 22-21 lead at halftime. “He went on the market in opposition to a top-two opponent and beat them. That reveals quite a bit proper there. … The poise he had the complete sport was unbelievable.”
The final time an AP top-three matchup was determined by a degree got here in 1991, when No. 2 Miami defeated No. 1 Florida State 17-16, in line with ESPN Analysis. The Hurricanes went on to win the nationwide championship that season.
Oregon’s victory over Ohio State put the Geese (6-0) in pole place within the Large Ten title and playoff races. The Geese are one in every of three Large Ten groups to stay undefeated, becoming a member of Penn State and Indiana. They do not face both within the common season.
Gabriel famous that Oregon nonetheless has loads of season left and a protracted strategy to go to fulfill its objectives. However when requested about his journey from Orlando, Florida, to Norman, Oklahoma, to Eugene and whether or not this win was his most gratifying but, he started singing the phrases “coast to coast” earlier than stopping to attend for the remainder of the query.
“I’ve discovered quite a bit at every cease and, extra importantly, who I’m as an individual,” he mentioned. “At this level in my profession, I simply admire the place I’m at this time. … I’ve beloved each little bit of it.”
As Gabriel got here again from the locker room to the horde of followers ready for him on the sphere simply outdoors of the tunnel, he unfold his arms open, soaking within the second. He grabbed an outsized Oregon hat from one fan and put it on his head.
Gabriel then circled and hugged coaches and teammates earlier than slipping again into the locker room, the place the celebration continued.
“Once you win in opposition to an awesome opponent, you take pleasure in it for that point,” Gabriel mentioned. “Successful is enjoyable. There’s loads of pleasure in profitable. … However we all know it is only a step in the suitable route. Tomorrow, we have got to get up and go earn it.”