Dan Lanning delivers telling response when asked about Oregon's 12-men penalty vs. Ohio State
Dan Lanning and Oregon secured their first statement win of the season Saturday night, getting past Ohio State in a dramatic one-point win at home.
The late-game performance of the Ducks was particularly noteworthy with Dillon Gabriel leading a go-ahead drive before the Oregon defense stood tall to finish the game. Ohio State did have a chance to get into position for a game-winning field goal try, but the clock ultimately expired on Will Howard’s game-ending scramble.
However, the play preceding the final play received a lot of attention after the game. With 10 seconds left, the Ducks were flagged for 12-men on the field during a play that resulted in a 5-yard penalty but no success on the play itself from the Buckeyes.
A breakdown from Warren Sharp that circulated on social media made the case that it was an intentional penalty from Lanning’s group. The reasoning behind that conclusion involved the amount of time remaining and the ability for Oregon to greater clamp down on the chances of a big play with the extra defender on the field.
Lanning was asked if the penalty was indeed intentional at his Monday press conference, and the head coach had a knowing smile throughout his response. While Lanning did not explicitly say “yes,” the answer illustrates how much time the Ducks put into unique situations such as this one.
“There was a timeout just before that (play). We spend an inordinate amount of time on situations. There are some situations that don’t show up very often in college football, but this one obviously was something we had worked on,” said Lanning. “You could see the result.”
You can see the full question and Lanning’s response beginning just after the 10-minute mark: