SI

Oregon Coach Dan Lanning Couldn’t Hide His Delight When Asked About Shrewd Manipulation of Rules

The Ducks pulled off a fast one that helped seal their win against Ohio State.

Jimmy Traina

Dan Lanning was on top of everything during Oregon’s win against Ohio State.
Dan Lanning was on top of everything during Oregon’s win against Ohio State. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

1. You know how some people tell you everything you need to know just by the look on their face?

That was the case Monday with Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, who explained how he pulled off a fast one at the end of the Ducks’ game against Ohio State on Saturday, but clearly let us know the truth by the grin on his face.

The details:

Oregon was up 32–31 with nine seconds left in the game and Ohio State at the Ducks’43-yard line. After Oregon called timeout, the team came out on the field with 12 men on defense, which drew a flag.

But the play had run and four seconds came off the clock, leaving Ohio State with just one chance to pull off a miracle.

Many people are upset that the time doesn’t go back on the clock since the penalty is basically a manipulation of the clock.

The best part of all this was Lanning trying to keep a straight face while answering whether he sent 12 men onto the field on purpose.

Lanning first tried give some mumbo jumbo answer about coverages, but then he came clean. “There was a timeout before that,” Lanning explained. "We spent an inordinate amount of time on situations. There are some situations that don’t show up very often in college football. But this is one that obviously was something we worked on. You could see the result.”

You could also see the sly grin on Lanning’s face as he explained his cunning ways.

2. If you were on social media this morning, you likely saw a bunch of tweets about Jerry Jones acting like big jerk on a local radio show.

What fascinates me about this isn’t that Jerry Jones acted like a jerk on a radio show. It’s that Jerry Jones does a weekly spot on a local radio show.

Which owner in sports does this? How does it benefit the organization to have the blowhard owner go on the radio and do a State of the Union EVERY SINGLE WEEK? Most owners, front office executives and coaches want everyone associated with their team to do as little press as possible. With the Cowboys, the owner has a weekly radio spot. And all that does is make it even easier for everyone outside of Dallas to root against the Cowboys.

3. Bill Belichick dumping all over the Jets during the ManningCast on Monday night was perfect. What makes Belichick so good at this is that he doesn’t yell, he doesn’t use inflammatory language, he doesn’t go over the top. Which makes his words cut even more.

“You know, Peyton, Eli,” said Belichick, “I’m not a big Jets fan in case you didn’t now that. … Coach Saleh did a good job with that program. He brought in a culture, a level of toughness, competitiveness. Unfortunately, the offense hasn’t… a little bit of a slow start. I thought Coach Saleh really did a good job with this team and they’re probably not that far away from winning.”

When Peyton chimed in that it seemed early for the Jets to make a coaching change, Belichick pounced.

“That’s kind of what it’s been there with the Jets,” said Belichick. “Barely won over 30% in the last 10 years. The owner being the owner, just ready, fire, aim.”

4. This was pretty solid trolling by the Buffalo Bills after the team beat the Jets on Monday night.

5. Here is the best weekly segment on all of sports TV: Bad Beats.

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features an outstanding conversation with ESPN’s Paul Finebaum.

Finebaum talks about what it’s like to cover SEC football and deal with those fans, what goes into doing a daily four-hour radio show solo, his interviewing philosophy and his all-time favorite job.

Finebaum also discusses how the expanded playoff affects college football’s regular season, why he isn’t a regular on College GameDay, how he once got Lane Kiffin fired, his feud with wrestling legend Ric Flair, why college football needs to start its season earlier, whether coaches cover the point spread for boosters, the craziest moment of his career and much more.

Following Finebaum, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, Sal explains what it’s like when huge breaking news happens while being on air, the problem with MLB postseason broadcasters, the Jets firing Robert Saleh and more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: After watching some shaky umpiring during the playoffs, I can’t help but wonder what Twitter would’ve been like if it had been around during the Eric Gregg game in 1997.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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