Dan Lanning has put together an undefeated season so far at 11-0 and the Ducks are effectively a lock for the College Football Playoff, though their seeding has yet to be determined. He has done this through brilliant recruiting, player development and being just a bit mad in the process. Mr. FishDuck took a break from his fun at 5 Euro minimum deposit casino to share how he loved my new nickname for our head coach.
Lanning has grown in his use of strange or trick plays, as he wants to remain aggressive but knows if he uses the same play more than once or twice a season he becomes predictable, and that undermines their entire purpose. A major part of his growing confidence in the use of these plays comes with the development of his defense. This year more than ever, he can fall back on his defense, knowing they can hold their own if called upon. This has allowed Lanning to take more risks, though again, he has improved in ensuring he takes smarter risks as well.
Contrast this with how Ohio State, one of the biggest blue bloods in the sport, plays the game. Ohio State rarely does anything too unexpected because Ryan Day knows he has way better athletes than the vast majority of his competition, and at some point in the game his athletes will just take control of it. This is precisely what happened against Indiana. The Hoosiers scored first and even moved the ball well for first quarter and into the second, but at some point the Buckeyes took control of the game and that was the end of it. They never looked back.
With Oregon and Lanning, they have better athletes than almost everyone they have played this year, but Lanning wants to tax the opponent’s bodies and minds as well — which is why he will roll out with some strange plays to challenge the opposing teams and coaches to react to him.
Here are some recent examples of Mad Man Dan challenging opposing teams.
The Big Man Drive vs. Maryland
In the third quarter against Maryland, Lanning decided to ignite the Oregon offense with a series of plays that all used big men. The drive stalled out around the 30-yard line when Lanning opted to go for a fake punt. In this play the ball was directly snapped to Jordan Burch who then ran for about 30 yards before being brought down.
After a deep pass that put the Ducks up inside the 5, Lanning pulled out another big man play where Gernorris Wilson, a backup offensive lineman, lined up as a tight end, with a tight end number. After an initial block, Wilson moved behind the Maryland defense and set up an easy pass and touchdown for Dillon Gabriel.
Offensive lineman Gernorris Wilson, lined up as a tight end, makes a touchdown catch for the Ducks.
(Photo From YouTube Fox Sports Media)
But wait, there’s more!
Lanning opted to go for two and this time, starting offensive tackle Josh Connerly took the snap and bulldozed it in for against the Terrapin defense.
Lanning is being innovative in his use of his big and athletic linemen. They are difficult to stop and can often overpower the opponent, but the key in this series of plays is that they are initially taking the field in positions that are completely normal. Burch was lined up as a blocker for the punter, Wilson was lined up as part of the offensive line, and Connerly didn’t come behind center until everyone motioned into formation for a two-point attempt.
Josh Connerly takes a direct snap and scores on a two point conversion for the Ducks.
(Photo From YouTube Fox Sports Media)
As a result, there wasn’t much the coaches on the opposing sidelines could do. It forced the players on the field to react and make the right decision — which is easier said than done when Oregon’s linemen are on the move.
Special Teams Gambles
This year Lanning seems all the more willing to make use of his special teams to do some unpredictable (and at times, strange) things. Against Wisconsin, as the Ducks were up by three and in field goal range, Lanning decided to go for a fake field goal. This play failed, but was close to succeeding as the holder/runner was only about a half a yard shy of making the first down. All it took was a Badger defender tripping him that stopped the play from working.
Perhaps Lanning makes a change to the holder and finds a faster runner to make this play more reliable in future seasons.
Perhaps the most daring special teams play Lanning called for came against Ohio State where the Ducks scored a touchdown and turned around to steal a possession from the Buckeyes. He accomplished this with his placekicker Andrew Boyle kicking the ball directly at an Ohio State player.
The Ohio State player did a completely human thing when a ball is kicked at him and he’s not prepared for it — try to jump out of the way. The ball hit the Buckeye and was easily recovered by the Ducks.
Lanning opts to go for an on-side kick against Ohio State where the kicker drills the ball right at an Ohio State player, and it works.
(Photo from YouTube NBC Sports Media)
This feels like a high-risk play, and in truth it came with significant risk. If the Buckeyes recovered the ball on the spot, they would have started their drive around mid-field. However, Lanning opted to take this chance because on the touchdown play, Ohio State was flagged with face-masking and the kickoff was advanced 15 yards. Realistically the worst case scenario would be the kick misses the player and becomes a squib kick that bounces to around the 30-25 yard line, which is as good as a touchback.
It did, however, take Ohio State completely by surprise and gained Oregon an edge in a game that the Ducks needed every advantage they could get.
Lanning Tests Rule Book Knowledge
There have been two times this year that Lanning has outright tested his opponent’s knowledge of the rule book. The first time was his infamous 12-men on the field penalty. A quick summary of this call is that Lanning opted to put 12 men on the field to trigger a penalty after the clock started with only 10 seconds left in game. He effectively traded five yards for four seconds and this helped seal Oregon’s win over Ohio State.
This played created so much of a stir that the rules committee met and passed a mid-season rule change to stop another coach from making use of this fringe exploit.
However, before the rules change it is worth noting that there were two ways to counter such a move, and the Buckeyes failed to react. First, the quarterback can just let the play clock expire; this would trigger the 12-men penalty as that would be the rationale for not hiking the ball. The second option is to call a time out, as there are 12-men on the field for the defense which would be a penalty. This too would enact the penalty — the timeout would be restored, and game clock wouldn’t go down.
The Buckeyes did neither and suffered.
Oregon lined up in a strange punt formation to draw a penalty from Michigan.
(Photo From YouTube CBS Sports Media)
The second time Lanning challenged a team with the rule book came against Michigan. In the fourth quarter with just under five minutes to play, the Ducks were driving and came up short on 3rd down. Lanning sent out the punt team and then aligned in a truly bizarre fashion (see above). The long snapper stood alone with the punter behind him and then all the defenders spread out to the far side.
Michigan’s nose tackle didn’t know what to do so he lined up over the ball. This turned out to be illegal and triggered an alignment infraction for a five-yard penalty, and the drive kept rolling. Listening to the headset conversation in Ducks vs Them, it does appear the complete design of that alignment was to see if the opposing team would line up incorrectly and give them yards for a first down. It worked.
So what else does Lanning have in store for us his year? We don’t know, but what is clear is that Mad Man Dan will have something for us when we least expect it.
David Marsh
Portland, Oregon
Top Photo By: Eric Becker
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David Marsh is a high school social studies teacher in Portland, Oregon. As a teacher he is known for telling puns to his students who sometimes laugh out of sympathy, and being both eccentric about history and the Ducks.
David graduated from the University of Oregon in 2012 with Majors in: Medieval Studies, Religious Studies, and Geography. David began following Ducks Football after being in a car accident in 2012; finding football something new and exciting to learn about during this difficult time in his life. Now, he cannot see life without Oregon football.