Dan Lanning Confirms Oregon's Strategic 12-Men Penalty vs. Ohio State Was Intentional

Karl Rasmussen | Oct 14, 2024

Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning celebrates amid a crowd of fans on the field after defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Oregon Ducks secured arguably their greatest victory in program history at Autzen Stadium on Saturday in a thrilling 32–31 win over Ohio State.

The final drive of the game was much discussed in the aftermath, as Oregon was flagged for a 12-men on the field penalty that many speculated was actually intentional.

When asked about the moment on Monday, Lanning indicated that adding a 12th man to the defensive setup was indeed discussed during the Ducks' timeout.

"There was a timeout before that. We spend an inordinate amount of time on situations," Lanning said. "There are some situations that don't show up very often in college football, but this was one that obviously was something we had worked on. So, you can see the result."

Dan Lanning confirms the 12 men penalty was intentional: pic.twitter.com/VPpi8eMAWj

— Tsunami (@Tsunami_TS) October 15, 2024

The ensuing play saw Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard throw to Jeremiah Smith who was covered by cornerback Jabbar Mohammed. The pass was incomplete and four seconds ran off the clock, though flags were thrown which enabled Ohio State to advance five yards. Howard then attempted to run the ball with six seconds left in the game, causing time to expire before the Buckeyes had a chance to call timeout and set up a game-winning field goal or take a shot at the end zone.

Many felt that Lanning had essentially exploited a loophole in the rule book, knowing that the five-yard penalty wouldn't result in more time being added onto the clock because it's considered a live-ball foul.

Oregon's 12th defender crowded the right side of the field and effectively encouraged Howard to throw to Smith on his left, who was covered by Mohammed with a safety behind him.

you NEED to watch how genius this is 👀

:10 left, Oregon calls a timeout

they intentionally add a 12th man late to ensure no big gain occurs

ball is snapped, no big gain

obviously it’s a penalty BUT

1) :04 ticks off clock
2) no big gain

:06 left

only time for 1 play

WIN pic.twitter.com/2MouQanBK8

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) October 13, 2024

Oregon's extra defender helped to prevent a big gain, and Howard's unfortunate attempt at a scramble on the next play saw the game clock expire and the Ducks take the victory.

Truly a stroke of genius from the Ducks coach.

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