You may have heard a member of No. 2 Oregon’s (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) secondary made a big play in the Ducks’ 30-24 double overtime win over Penn State.

Trailing by six in the second overtime, Dillon Thieneman dropped into coverage and picked off Drew Allar to win the game for the Ducks.

“Unbelievable job by our defensive coaches game-planning that,” Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said. “They came out in 12 personnel, and we went nickel, which we hadn’t really done all game. Our guys executed really, really well.”

Lanning and defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi called a play coverage they hadn’t used all game, and now the interception can be called one of the greatest Oregon moments in recent memory. Afterward, Thieneman reflected on the moment.

“I just picked it off, and it didn’t feel real in the moment,” he said. “Then I kind of just got up and started running.”

The pick sent Oregon into the bye week on the highest of highs, complete with a win in one of the toughest environments in sports and possibly the best defensive performance of the Lanning era.

Spearheading the lockdown was a stout showing from Oregon’s secondary, a group that allowed just 137 passing yards and held the Nittany Lions’ two most potent receivers to two receptions for 16 yards. Through five games, the Ducks are allowing just 104.8 passing yards per game, a trend Thieneman says is due to the secondary gelling together quickly.

“Reps in practice and talking through concepts, certain concepts (are important),” Thieneman said after a practice the week of the Penn State game. “We need good pre-snap communication, talking on and off the field, and the more reps we get, the better we are.”

Other members of the secondary agree.

“The biggest thing is being on the same page, and not being afraid of the moment,” defensive back Jadon Canady said. “Being a freshman playing like that, I never was scared, so I preach to the young guys like, ‘hey don’t be scared, just be on the same page, get the call, see it and execute.’”

Penn State also averaged just 4.6 yards per play, the lowest in offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s two seasons. Saturday was far from perfect. The defense, although clinical for nearly three quarters, had breakdowns that allowed PSU back into the game. A few of those mistakes came from the star of the night, Thieneman.

“From my point of view, I had a couple of key mistakes on both their scoring drives that ended up leading to scores,” he said. “I think the few mistakes here and there, I know I made some mistakes, I know some other guys here and there, it just piled up and led to the score, but we stayed composed and were able to get through it.”

Winning cures all, though, and a group ranked No. 11 in total defense paired with a talented offense will be able to live with a few mistakes if they escape with a win.

“We trusted our offense. We trusted Dante. We trusted everyone on that side of the ball to go out there and do what they do,” Thieneman said. “We learned from our mistakes that we made in that fourth quarter that ended up leading to both those scores, and then we just had to go out there and execute.”

Lanning echoed a similar sentiment.

“I’m just really proud of our players that they got to experience what they worked really hard for. There’s a ton of emotion in a game like that. You put in your all, you work incredible hours, and players work so hard.”