Dillon Gabriel will be in New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony on Saturday. Still, the eyes of the Oregon quarterback are fixed on a much bigger prize: a national championship.

The Ducks went undefeated in their first season in the Big Ten en route to a victory over Penn State in the B1G Championship Game on Dec. 7. Now, Gabriel and his teammates hope that success carries on to the College Football Playoff, where they’re the top seed and will face either Tennessee or B1G foe Ohio State in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal on New Year’s Day.

This season’s Ducks have set a high bar for the future, and according to Gabriel, it’s only the beginning.

“Just setting the tone for what’s to come,” Gabriel told ESPN’s Kevin Negandhi on Friday’s “SportsCenter” when asked what it meant to win the B1G and clinch a Playoff berth in the Ducks’ first year in the conference. “We’re really excited to have that opportunity and [we] did our due diligence to earn our way to have that opportunity and took full advantage of it. … It’s a step in the right direction, it’s one that we can hold on for a lifetime.”

Gabriel mentioned the advantage the Ducks have with Dan Lanning on the sideline. Oregon’s head coach was one of the country’s top defensive coordinators at Georgia, helping them to a national championship in 2022.

“We got a great plan. Coach Lanning has done a great job and has obviously been in this position before. So, schedule-wise, I feel really good about it,” he said.