Catch your breath, Ducks fans. 

What was widely lauded as one of the biggest games in Autzen Stadium history fell in the favor of the hometown team, which is not something many Oregon fans can say given the Ducks’ track record in their most important games. 

However, Oregon pulled it out this time against the supposed kings of the Big Ten, then No. 2 Ohio State. After a nail-biting 60 minutes, Oregon edged the Buckeyes, and now what?

What does the rest of the season look like now that the wicked witch is dead, in a sense?

How can the Ducks carry this incredible momentum into the latter half of this, seemingly destined, playoff campaign?

The answer is consistency. 

Head Coach Dan Lanning constantly stresses how the most important game is the next one, and often preaches his method of not celebrating victories, even one of the biggest ones in Oregon’s history. 

“I’m really excited to figure out what we can go attack and improve because the team we are today, Oct. 12, is not gonna be the same team we are in December,” Lanning said. 

This squad’s commitment to improving every week clearly starts from the top and goes down throughout the Ducks’ locker room. This just means that there is no time now to dwell on this victory and, in fact, there is no time to waste in picking apart this contest and getting better. 

Expect Lanning’s squad to show no indication of the Herculean feat they just pulled off. 

While the image of cornerback Dontae Manning standing along the barriers to the field will stay burned into the memory of Ducks fans forever, that is about as much as you will see. This team has always been ready for this moment, especially what happens after a major win. 

“We knew that regardless of the result of this game every single one of our goals was in front of us,” Lanning said. “Certainly having a win affects your ability to accomplish your goals later on in the season.”

Those goals are currently shaping up to include a second meeting with the ever-prolific Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship game on Dec. 7. 

There seems to be no reality in which the Big Ten Championship doesn’t include Oregon and Ohio State. Both teams are through what was always meant to be the toughest challenge of the season for each side — although each came out of it much differently. 

Oregon has two matchups against currently ranked opponents — in Eugene against No. 22 Illinois and in Ann Arbor against No. 24 Michigan — and Ohio State has three — most notably a matchup with current No. 3 ranked Penn State in Happy Valley. 

“Everything’s still on the table for both teams, I know they’re gonna put themselves in a position to continue to compete and be in great shape the rest of the season,” Lanning said.

If the season becomes as everyone predicted, which it almost never does, the two powerhouses responsible for one of the most exciting games of the year will meet again for another chance at an instant classic. All each team has to do now is win out, which sounds easy, but it never is. 

That’s the reality Lanning has come to terms with, and he will take nothing for granted as his Ducks try to emulate some of the finest teams in Oregon’s history of success.

“This isn’t one of those teams I have to motivate to work, they embrace it,” Lanning said.