At the time, it felt like Oregon’s season was on the line. If not, its chances at competing for a spot in the College Football Playoff were definitely at stake.
The Ducks sat at 1-1, hosting No. 12 Brigham Young University at Autzen Stadium. A loss meant they would head into Pac-12 play at 1-2 — no two-loss team has earned a spot in the CFP. So there they were, leading the Cougars 17-7, facing a fourth-and-1 with the first half coming to a close.
Knowing they would receive the second half kickoff, the Ducks chose an aggressive route and elected to go for it rather than punt. They lined up in what guard Marcus Harper coined “the big boy package,” and ran it up the middle for eight yards. The conversion led to a touchdown three plays later as the Ducks went up 24-7 before the half.
“We wanted to win critical situations, we were good on fourth down,” Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said following what ended as a 41-20 win over BYU. “Decisions like those, we talk about those as a team. Those decisions are made long before we ever get out there… our guys understand our mentality and what we’re going to do.”
Lanning wanted to instill an aggressive mindset in his players this season – notably present in his decision to keep offense on the field on the critical fourth downs.
To get the whole team on board with his philosophy, he had to remain consistent throughout the year. To his credit, he did, and in the end, those decisions defined the outcome of Oregon’s season.
They warranted mixed results.
Negatives
After suffering a 49-3 loss at the hands of No. 1 Georgia in its opening game, Oregon ran the table for the following eight. Then, the Ducks entered a three-game stint against a trio of ranked opponents. The goal was simple: win out and they earn a spot in the CFP.
Right as the three-game gauntlet started, the Ducks were tested by the Washington Huskies. They had converted two fourth-and-shorts earlier in the game. The third attempt, however, came from the Ducks’ own 34 yard line — locked in a tie game with backup quarterback Ty Thompson in for the injured Bo Nix.
Thompson handed the ball to running back Noah Whittington — who had been the ball carrier on the Ducks’ first conversion — and he slipped trying to cut back, short of the first down line. The Huskies took possession in field goal range and kicked home a game winning field goal a few plays later.
“We’ve sat in this room and talked about when it’s worked out,” Lanning said in the press conference after the 37-34 loss. “Now we’re sitting here talking about when they didn’t.”
Lanning took accountability for the mistake and stayed true to the system he had preached all season, and he did the same in Oregon’s game against Oregon State.
Despite the negative result that came from trying a fourth down conversion in Duck territory with the game on the line, he tried the same thing against the Beavers.
The Ducks had led the Beavers 31-10 with 3:38 remaining in the third quarter, but Oregon State cut the lead to three in the following nine minutes. Then, on fourth-and-1 from the 29, leading 34-31, the Ducks decided to go for it, and Nix was stopped short on a read-option play.
The Beavers scored a go-ahead and game-sealing touchdown four plays later as Isaiah Newell’s six-yard run found the end zone and put them up 38-34.
After the game, Lanning said, “We’ve been aggressive in our nature the majority of the year, and a lot of times it’s worked for us.”
While it didn’t work in that scenario — a result that all but destroyed Oregon’s chance at earning a spot in the Pac-12 championship game — Lanning’s statement wasn’t wrong. The Ducks benefitted from that go-getter attitude more often than not. Look to the BYU game for example. Unfortunately for Lanning, the negatives ring much louder than the positives.
Positives
Fourth down decisions have defined Oregon’s season for better or worse, but a similar aggressive play call left an imprint as well.
Eugene hosted its first ESPN GameDay in four years when the Ducks hosted No. 9 UCLA. The city was abuzz all day Saturday from the crack of dawn until the end of the game. However, there was one moment of peace and silence. It was a short one, at that.
It came when Lanning was attempting a surprise onside kick just before the end of the first half.
The Ducks had just scored a 49 yard touchdown on a Nix pass to Troy Franklin and tried to build off that momentum by stealing another possession before halftime.
“That was something we wanted to do,” Lanning said. “It looked like there was some weather coming in. We felt like if there was a chance to steal a possession, it would be before the weather really hit.”
Before it rained in Autzen for the only time all season, Lanning duped former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly and the Bruins’ special teams unit. Kicker Andrew Boyle dribbled the ball in front of him and recovered his own onside kick. On the ensuing drive the Ducks ran the ball on six of eight plays and ended the drive with a Jordan James two-yard touchdown run.
That sequence emulated the type of team Lanning strived to build this season — catching opponents off guard then wearing them down with methodical drives.
That mentality was certainly present when the Ducks took on No. 10 Utah — a program that boatraced the Ducks twice in 2021. Lanning didn’t seem to care about the history. With the game on the line, he elected to give the ball to a hobbled Nix, who hadn’t run all night because of his bum ankle.
The Utes never saw it coming and Nix gained two yards on a third-and-1 that sealed the 20-17 win for the Ducks.
While the final result was a loss against Washington, on the final drive, the Ducks faced fourth-and-14 from their own 21. Nix had just come back from getting hurt and missed the previous drive, so his mobility was limited. In addition, he had taken a sack the play before to put them in fourth-and-14.
However, in that moment, it was clear the Ducks were no stranger to pressure, no stranger to being aggressive with the game on the line.
Nix hit Franklin over the middle for a 19-yard gain that kept the drive alive.
It’s clear Lanning’s philosophy warrants a slew of negatives and positive results. In two instances this season it cost the Ducks wins, but it also helped them overcome ranked opponents in BYU and UCLA. One thing’s for certain, when the game reaches a pivotal moment, Lanning is in control of his team’s destiny.
Therein lies the advantage of the strategy he employs. When it comes down to it, with Lanning at the helm, when the Ducks face a fork in the road — like those fourth-and-shorts in their own territory — they will control how the game plays out. It’ll be in their offense’s hands rather than punting it and letting the opposing team have a go at it.
And now, Lanning has a full year of results to weigh when preparing for next season. The reality is he’s a young, first-year head coach who’s learning on the job. It’ll be interesting to see how he adapts after his first season in that position.
If these negatives continue to outweigh the positives, though, he won’t be Oregon’s head coach for long.
