Ducks Digest

How Oregon Ducks' Dan Lanning Took Advantage of Wisconsin's 'Jump Around'

The Oregon Ducks video team released the latest episode of "Ducks vs. Them" after Oregon beat the Wisconsin Badgers on the road. Behind-the-scenes footage reveals how Oregon coach Dan Lanning used Wisconsin's "Jump Around" tradition to his own advantage.

Charlie Viehl

Nov 16, 2024; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning looks on during the third quarter against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
Nov 16, 2024; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning looks on during the third quarter against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
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The No. 1 Oregon Ducks are one of the best teams in the country, and they happen to have one of the best video teams in the country. After beating the Wisconsin Badgers in Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, Oregon released the latest episode of "Ducks vs. Them" on Tuesday.

The 13-minute video is titled "When You Hear That Song" because of the Badgers famous tradition of dancing to House of Pain's "Jump Around" between the third and fourth quarters at every home game. Instead of letting Wisconsin's tradition intimidate his team, Oregon coach Dan Lanning used Wisconsin's tradition to his advantage.

Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning looks on during the third quarter against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium.
Nov 16, 2024; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning looks on during the third quarter against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

On the Monday before the Ducks faced Wisconsin, Lanning made his message clear to his players in a team meeting.

"In this game, and throughout this week, you're going to hear this song," said Lanning. "It's going to release dopamine in your mind, and it's going to tell you that you're hungry to go eat. Whenever we hear this, I want our temperature to change. . . . When you hear it at practice, I want you to say to yourself, 'S*** is about to get serious.'"

The Ducks coach likened his team's response to the psychological concept of Pavlov's dog. Lanning has made headlines for the use of psychology when motivating his players, and the build up into the Wisconsin game was no different.

The Pavlov's dog experiments are famous for demonstrating the idea of classical conditioning, the idea of connecting a neutral stimulus with something positive. In the Pavlov's dog experiment, scientists rang a bell whenever they gave a dog food. Shortly thereafter, the dog began to salivate and expect food every time the bell made a sound.

For Lanning and the Ducks, the stimulus was "Jump Around," and the response was to win the game.

"Jump Around" came and the Oregon players all participated, dancing on the sideline. The following play to start the fourth quarter was a massive one as the Ducks offense faced a fourth down with nine yards to go. When play resumedOregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel rolled out of the pocket to his left and found tight end Terrance Ferguson for a first down

The Ducks eventually escaped Wisconsin with a 16-13 win, and it appears as though Lanning's motivational tactics paid off once again.

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Charlie Viehl
CHARLIE VIEHL

Charlie Viehl is a 23-year old Boston College graduate and is an Oregon Ducks and USC Trojans beat reporter for On SI. A native of Pasadena, California, he covered sports across Los Angeles while at Loyola High School and edited the Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program’s magazine at BC. While pursuing a career in sports journalism, he is also a lifelong musician. He is excited to bring his passion for storytelling and sports to fans of college athletics.

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