In one of the most thrilling college football games of the entire season, the No. 3 Oregon Ducks edged out the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes, 32-31, in what was a modern-day classic.
However, a controversial tactic used by Oregon head coach Dan Lanning in the final seconds of the game has caught the attention of the NCAA, prompting an investigation into a potential rule loophole.
With just seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Ohio State had the ball and was within striking distance for a game-winning field goal, trailing by one point.
After a costly offensive pass interference penalty pushed the Buckeyes out of field goal range, Ohio State needed to gain some yardage quickly to get back into position.
But that’s when Lanning made a bold strategic move.
Following a timeout with only 10 seconds left on the clock, Lanning sent 12 players onto the field – a move that he admitted was intentional.
His reasoning was clear: the additional player would help prevent a big play, and the resulting penalty would only cost Oregon five yards while crucial time ran off the clock.
Ohio State quarterback Will Howard threw an incomplete pass on the next play, and after the penalty, there were just six seconds left.
Despite gaining the five penalty yards, the Buckeyes still needed more to get into field goal range.
On the following play, Howard mismanaged the clock and let time expire, sealing Oregon’s victory.
When asked if the 12-men-on-the-field penalty was intentional, Lanning didn’t deny it.
“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.”
Ohio State fans may not want to hear it, but let’s face the facts, it was a genius move by Lanning … Any anger should be directed towards the NCAA and the rule book.
While it’s too late for Buckeyes fans, Lanning’s sketchy tactic has indeed caught the attention of the NCAA.
The organization is reportedly investigating whether the strategy exploited a loophole in the current rules.
“The NCAA Rules Committee is examining the loophole that Oregon coaches used against Ohio State, a committee official tells @YahooSports,” Ross Dellenger reported on X. “They could take in-season action to address the play by directing officials to handle it differently in the future.”
One potential adjustment the NCAA might consider is treating the penalty as a dead-ball foul, which would prevent teams from running additional time off the clock in similar scenarios.
Whether any changes are made remains to be seen, but Lanning’s move has sparked widespread discussion about the tactics coaches can use in tight games.
The situation is very similar to what Bill Belichick did back in 2015 when the New England Patriots masterfully took advantage of a loophole in the rules against the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs.
Even with the loss, a majority of fans and analysts walked away from Saturday’s game thinking that Ohio State was actually the better team.
Luckily for us, there’s an excellent chance we see these two titans match up at least one more time this season.
What are your thoughts on the whole situation?