Oregon reaches Big Ten title game by refusing to focus on the 'fiction' of the future

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Oregon hasn’t gotten this far by wish-casting about outcomes in its first Big Ten season. As quarterback Dillon Gabriel says, the Ducks have no use for tomorrow's fiction.

That mentality has served the Ducks well. They finished the regular season 12-0 (9-0 Big Ten) and atop both the AP Top 25 and the College Football Playoff rankings. Now they're headed to the conference title game next Saturday in Indianapolis, where they'll face No. 3 Penn State (11-1, 8-1, No. 4 CFP).

“We all appreciate it, but I think the best part is we haven’t really talked about it. We’re just one-week focused and so present," Gabriel said. "It’s hard to do. It’s very easy for us to look forward to the future, but we’ve just been living in a time where tomorrow is fiction. Tomorrow’s not real in our books. We’re just focused right where we’re at.”

Oregon capped the regular season with a 49-21 victory Saturday night over rival Washington, which had won the previous three meetings. It was Oregon's 13th straight victory, dating back to last season, for the longest current winning streak in the nation.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning was asked his thoughts after the win. He replied: “How can we get better?”

And indeed Oregon, which bolted the Pac-12 in realignment last year, has steadily improved throughout the season by not looking too far ahead.

The Ducks got off to a somewhat shaky start with lackluster non-conference victories over Idaho and Boise State before they sorted out issues on the offensive line.

After a thumping of Oregon State in what was once the team's season-ending Pac-12 rivalry game, Oregon marched past UCLA and Michigan State before the season's gritty and defining 32-31 win over then-No. 2 Ohio State.

“There are a ton of challenges right now in the world of college football, but I think it starts in that locker room," Lanning said. "You have guys that are bought in, believe in what we’re doing. ... You focus on getting better every single day. I think that’s the kind of group we have in there right now.”

Oregon, which wrapped up the season as the lone undefeated team in FBS, had already secured the top seed in the conference championship game before facing Washington.

The Nittany Lions defeated Maryland 44-7 earlier Saturday. Ohio State’s 13-10 loss to Michigan helped Penn State secure a berth.

Oregon has played the Nittany Lions just one other time: In the 1995 Rose Bowl. Penn State, led by Joe Paterno, won that one, 38-20.

Oregon can secure a first-round bye in the expanded the 12-team playoffs with a win on Saturday. That would likely put the Ducks in the Rose Bowl for the quarterfinals. Even with a loss, Oregon is assured a playoff berth.

Staying true to form for the in-the-moment Ducks, on a Sunday conference call with reporters Lanning wasn't looking too far ahead.

That's fiction, of course, for the moment.

“I think we’re we’re doing exactly what I anticipated for our team to be able to do. So, you can’t look ahead. You can’t look backwards. You've got to be in the present,” the coach said. “I think our team is doing a great job of doing just by being in the present.”

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Anne M. Peterson, The Associated Press