Did Oregon Ducks’ Dan Lanning Admit to Intentional 12-Man Penalty in Win Over Ohio State?

During his weekly pregame press conference, Oregon Duck Footballs’ head coach alluded to intentionally committing a penalty to run out the clock in Oregon’s marquee win vs. the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning looks on as the No. 3 Oregon Ducks host the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It’s a topic that’s floated around social media since the Oregon Ducks’ nail-biting victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes: did Oregon coach Dan Lanning intentionally commit an obvious penalty to run out the clock? Many football enthusiasts and analysts are claiming Lanning intentionally put 12 athletes on the field during the second to last play of the game, leading to a penalty for illegal substitution against Jamaree Caldwell. That call shaved four seconds off the game clock, and forced Ohio State into a tricky situation with not much time left.

Lanning’s answer when asked during his weekly pregame press conference before Oregon’s trip to play Purdue sheds a little more light on the situation.

“(Jabbar Muhammad) wasn’t one on one, we actually had a safety on top. So, it’s called “dog” - when you play. But he wasn’t in an extremely tight coverage, but he was in “dog” coverage where he had a safety on top of him and there was a timeout before that. We spent an enormous amount of time on situations. There’s some situations that don’t show up very often in college football but this is one that, obviously, was something we had worked on. You can see the result,” Lanning said.

Though fairly evasive to the question, this appears to be more of an admission than a denial. Lanning admitting this is something the team has been working on alludes to the probability that Lanning and company indeed sought to have an extra defender on the play.

Oct 12, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) walks off the field after losing 32-31 to Oregon Ducks during the NCAA football game at Autzen Stadium. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The play in question was the second to last play of the game. After Oregon’s final offensive drive led to a 19-yard field goal from Atticus Sappington, Oregon only led the Buckeyes by one point, 32-31. Lanning chose to let his defense have the final say instead of running out the clock on offense.

“Yeah, we were trying to score a touchdown the whole time, right. But we knew it was an advantage to keep the clock running so they’d have to utilize their timeouts and wouldn’t have as many opportunities left out there at the end. We felt like they could really come out with a lot of options if they had all three timeouts there at the end. So we were trying to score on that third down play at the goal line, and they were able to get a great stop. So we kicked the field goal and said, let’s play defense,” Lanning said in his post game press conference.

The Buckeyes’ started their final offensive drive on their own 25-yard line, and with ten seconds left on the clock, made it to Oregon's 43-yard line with a third down and 25-yards to go (10 yards out of field goal range). After a lengthy timeout like Lanning mentioned, the Ducks’ defense returned to the field and the 12 athletes played the snap. With an extra safety in coverage, the Buckeyes didn’t pick up any yardage, but were awarded 5-yards for the penalty. That left the Buckeyes six seconds on the clock to either kick a 55-yard field goal or quarterback Will Howard to throw a “hail mary." Howard confusingly went with a quarterback scramble, sliding on the turf, and giving the Ducks the win.

Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning celebrates amid a crowd of fans on the field as the No. 3 Oregon Ducks knock off the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes 32-31 Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Many analysts are praising Lanning online for this move, including well-known sports media personality Dan Patrick and former coach Rick Neuheisel, who discussed Lanning on his radio show after the game.

“Here’s what I know about defensive coaches,” Neuheisel said. “They know every trick in the book.”

Neuheisel went on to share a similar situation he faced in his coaching career against Arizona State.

“Years ago, Arizona State against UCLA, when I was coaching at UCLA, put thirteen guys on the field on a second down and goal from the seven yard line with eight seconds left in the first half. Our quarterback couldn’t find anybody to throw to - threw it out of bounds. Of course the penalty, we get half the distance to the goal, but now it’s three seconds left in the half and we have to kick the field goal. So, they basically got us and it was thirteen guys on the field there,” Neuheisel said.

To Neuheisel and many others, Lanning seemed to be very much aware of this penalty trick. And as Lanning said “you can see the result,” Neuheisel also appreciates the presumed play making from the Ducks.

“Lanning had called time out, he saw the bunch. When you play bunches, which is three receivers clumped together, you usually play it in and out with somebody on the point. You’re going to be out leveraged on those if two receivers go in or two receivers go out. You’re going to have somebody that’s going to be in a leverage disadvantage. When you put another player on top of that bunch, that goes away. This was the twelfth player. The five yards were worth the five seconds. Brilliant by Oregon,” Neuheisel said.

ESPN College Gameday analyst Kirk Herbstreit also placed Lanning at the top of his weekly coach’s poll.

With Lanning’s sly confirmation of intentionality, we can presume this post on “X” (formerly Twitter) might have some merit:

if Dan Lanning purposefully sent 12 men out there to bleed clock and put OSU in an “impossible” situation

Statue

— Liam Blutman (@Blutman27) October 13, 2024

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