No. 2 Oregon had 12 players on the field late in their 32-31 victory over No. 4 Ohio State, which caused the clock to run down.
It turns out this was intentional.
“We spend a lot of time preparing for different situations, even those that don’t happen often in college football, and this was clearly something we practiced,” said Oregon coach Dan Lanning on Monday night. “You can see the result.”
Oregon took the lead with 1:47 left in the game when Atticus Sappington kicked a 19-yard field goal, giving Ohio State a chance to move down the field for a possible winning kick.
With Ohio State facing a third-and-25 from Oregon’s 43-yard line, the Ducks called a timeout with 10 seconds remaining.
Just before the ball was snapped, Oregon defensive back Dontae Manning entered the field, giving the Ducks an extra player. Ohio State was unable to complete a pass against Oregon’s 12-man defense on the next play, and the Ducks received a penalty for illegal substitution.
Ohio State gained five yards from the penalty but lost four seconds because it was called a live-ball foul. The Buckeyes were left with six seconds on the clock, and quarterback Will Howard tried to run up the middle, but he slid a moment too late, preventing Ohio State from calling a timeout for a potential game-winning field goal at Oregon’s 26.
