Ad Disclosure
Dan Lanning is playing chess when many a Big Ten coach continues to play checkers.
The latest evidence came last Saturday night in Eugene during Oregon’s thrilling 32-31 victory over Ohio State, a win that cemented the Ducks as the team to beat in the conference.
Following an Oregon timeout, with 10 seconds left in the win over the Buckeyes, the Ducks put 12 men on the field. Ducks defensive back Dontae Manning ran onto the field late to become the 12th man — presumably to prevent a big play. Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard then threw an incomplete pass to the other side of the field, with the clock stopping at 6 seconds left. Officials called a penalty on the Ducks, which gave Ohio State 5 yards but resulted in 4 seconds burning off the clock.
On the next play, Howard scrambled up the middle and slid to the ground. But time had expired before the Buckeyes were able to call timeout.
Lanning was asked about the penalty Monday, and you can read between the lines the Ducks were well aware of what they were doing and why.
“There was a timeout before that — we spend an inordinate amount of time on situations,” Lanning said. “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. So you can see the result.”
Because the Buckeyes were not even close to field-goal range, Oregon was able to afford to take the penalty. While adding an extra defender didn’t guarantee the Buckeyes wouldn’t spring a big play with so many weapons, it was still a good assumption and risk for Lanning to take knowing no matter what happened, the Buckeyes would only have enough time for 1 more play.
Wednesday, the NCAA attempted to stop the unique strategy. Moving forward, the offensive team can take the 5 yards and ask that the clock be reset to the time at the snap.
That obviously didn’t help Ohio State, but the fact that Lanning was innovative enough to come up with the idea speaks volumes about his rapid rise as a head coach and in-game manager.
With the showcase win over the Buckeyes, Lanning’s Ducks moved up to No. 2 in this week’s AP Top 25, and the victory let the rest of the B1G know Oregon — in its first year in a new league — is the team to beat in the conference.
It also entrenched Lanning as the league’s best coach.
There are plenty of great coaching jobs taking place across the country and in the B1G, in particular.
Indiana’s Curt Cignetti has the Hoosiers 6-0 and off to their best start since 1967 in his first season at the helm. Indiana’s defense is going to be tested against stronger opponents, but one cannot argue with the impact the former James Madison coach has made.
James Franklin once again has Penn State in the national mix, and he made a very good hire with offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. But has Franklin reached his ceiling in Happy Valley? He has had some very good teams, and an expanded College Football Playoff may help answer that question.
We know about Ryan Day at Ohio State. He has been able to keep the top-notch talent level in Columbus after taking over for Urban Meyer. We also know, with the loss to Oregon, Day dropped to 1-7 against teams ranked in the top 5.
As for Lincoln Riley? He’s 4-8 in his past 12 regular-season games. Quite stunning.
Bret Bielema, Matt Rhule, Kirk Ferentz … these are all fine coaches that most programs across the country would like to have. But Lanning right now has risen above them all.
Possibly outside of Texas, Oregon has emerged as the biggest story in college football, and the W against the Buckeyes gave Lanning a signature victory while putting the Ducks firmly in the national championship picture.
Heading into the matchup with the Buckeyes, Lanning had lost marquee games to Georgia in the 2022 season-opener, dropped rivalry tilts to Washington and Oregon State and failed to win the 2023 Pac-12 Championship Game. It’s likely why the Ducks were considered underdogs in their battle with Ohio State.
But this is a different Oregon outfit.
The high level of recruiting by Lanning and his staff showed off Saturday night. Heck, Oregon’s receiving corps even bested an Ohio State secondary that is one of the finest in the country. Add in the staff’s work in the transfer portal, and that is why B1G and national title contention was prospected even heading into a new league.
Don’t expect Lanning and the Ducks to be going anywhere any time soon. This program is built for sustained success.
Dave Miller has covered the college football landscape nationally since 2009 with stops at National Football Post and Campus Insiders. In addition to contributing to Saturday Tradition, he can be seen on Stadium Network.