The Oregon Ducks are having a dream season, even more so after their important victory over Wisconsin. Dillon Gabriel may not have had his best game, but he managed to help his team pull through a tough matchup, bringing their record to 11 wins and no losses.
Gabriel knows that both his performance and that of his teammates were not ideal to get through this game. However, he made it clear in the post-game press conference that everything went as planned and that the undefeated record remains intact in Oregon.
“It’s hard to win. And big time plays need to happen in big moments,” Gabriel said. “And I thought a lot of our players did make those things happen, you know, as a fourth down stop by the defense”.
In addition, Gabriel emphasized the importance of the field goals in the game: “Atticus [Sappington} with big kicks and being perfect in that situation, and then when we needed it on O, I thought we did a good job of going and getting it. But still, like I said, could help ourselves and set field goals getting, you know, points more than, plus four on that.”
Dillon Gabriel #8 of the Oregon Ducks runs with the ball for a first down late in the fourth quarter against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium on November 16, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin.
“But I think in general, winning games are hard, and when you have a team that knows how to win and doesn’t second guess anything, I think that speaks volume on just the guys we have in our building,” continued Gabriel.
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Gabriel’s inconsistencies during the game
Although the Ducks ultimately secured a narrow victory, Dan Lanning’s team struggled to score in both the second and third quarters, due to some inaccuracies in Gabriel’s throws and issues with the offense.
“I thought we moved the ball really well early. Thought we had some good things going early. And getting the first first [down], and moving it that way, but just struggled sometimes in third downs and then taking negatives on my end. So all that doesn’t help in playing efficient,” Gabriel said regarding this situation.
“But I think you look at certain drives when we needed it, I thought we played really well. But yeah, just got to clean that stuff up,” he concluded.
Dillon Gabriel #8 of the Oregon Ducks warms up before the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium on November 16, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin.
An important comeback for the Ducks
In the face of adversity, great teams often rise to the occasion and pull through. That was the case for the Ducks, who managed to turn around a game that was going against them and things weren’t going as planned.
Regarding this situation, the QB stated: “Just a bunch of guys who played a bunch of football and know what it takes to win,” Gabriel said. “It’s not easy, like I said, being in this situation, one more game, it’s just hard to do.”
“Whatever it takes. We had a bunch of unselfish players that want to win. It didn’t look the way maybe people thought it would, but that ‘W’ on the scoreboard is all that matters,“ Gabriel finally concluded.
Lanning sends a message to the rest of the teams
With their recent victory over Wisconsin, the Oregon Ducks have proven themselves a tough opponent for any team. On this matter, none other than head coach Dan Lanning issued a strong warning to the rest of the teams in the NCAAF.
“We can handle critical moments,” HC Dan Lanning stated, per Jake Trotter of ESPN.com. “We can handle when it’s tough, and at some point, that experience is going to pay off for us. It certainly paid off for us tonight.”
