Oregon and their head coach, Dan Lanning, pulled off a major win against Ohio State on Satruday night, and Lanning did something crazy that many didn’t even know was a rule.
With 10 seconds left, Ohio State had the ball down one, driving to kick a game-winning field goal. Oregon was called with too many men on the field, having 12 players on defense, on a play that ran a few seconds off the clock, and Ohio State accepted the penalty and got five free yards, but no time was added back.
The Buckeyes ended up having only six seconds to work with, and quarterback Will Howard tried running to pick up more yards on the next play but didn’t have enough time to call a timeout, so the game ended.
Oregon adding a 12th player on the field and knowing they would be called for a five-yard penalty was a genius move that Dan Lanning admitted to doing because they would have the advantage of players on the field; Ohio State was still out of field goal range, even with the five yards added on.
The big thing here is that time was not added back on the clock after the 12-man penalty was called, so Ohio State lost an entire play. However, many think the too-many-men-on-the-field penalty should be blown dead before the snap since the other team is playing at an unfair advantage.
Lanning took advantage of the rules, and now it looks like the NCAA will most likely change them sometime this year or by next season. The Oregon head coach is like someone else who changed rules this year in college football, but Lanning did it the legal way.
Dan Lanning Is Connor Stalions
Last season, news broke that one of Michigan’s analysts, Connor Stalions, was illegally stealing opposing teams’ signals, which is cheating. This year, rules were changed in college football because of it.
College football now allows helmet communication, so the coach can deliver the play to the quarterback through his helmet, as they do in the NFL. There is no need to sign in plays anymore.
Stalions cheated the game so badly that they had to change the rules because of him, and now Lanning’s new too-many players on the field call will also result in changes
Lanning changed the game in a genius way, while Stalions changed the sport, doing things that aren’t allowed in the rulebook. However, they both have a huge impact on the rules we will be seeing in college football from now on.