Urban Meyer came away from Oregon’s upset of Ohio State with a bold take on Dan Lanning: the Ducks coach may have just turned in the best performance of his time in Eugene.
Lanning has already stacked up plenty of big moments in five seasons at Oregon, where he’s gone 54-11 and reached a College Football Playoff semifinal. But Meyer, the former Ohio State coach, said the Ducks’ 41-28 Week 10 win over the Buckeyes stood above the rest.
The praise came Wednesday on Big Ten Network’s “Urban Analysis,” where Meyer spoke with Gerry DiNardo and credited Lanning’s staff for navigating a messy stretch. Oregon entered the year at No. 2 in the preseason AP Poll, but the Ducks have since gone through a three-loss season, just like No.
20 Ohio State (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten). Meyer pointed to the loss of quarterback Dante Moore and the firing of offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer as major tests for the program.
“He lost both coordinators from last year. Then, all of a sudden, Heisman Trophy candidate, projected possible No. 1 quarterback Dante Moore goes down with an injury,” Meyer said. “They lose three games, and he fired his offensive coordinator in the middle of the season.”
Meyer also said he had spoken with Lanning last week and came away impressed by the coach’s mindset about Oregon’s Big Ten title path.
“I actually talked to coach Lanning last week,” Meyer said. “He and I said all the best.
He said we need some things to go right for us to get to Indianapolis. Wow.
That’s half-full thinking. That’s positive thinking.
To get your team up to come play like that, I think that’s his best coaching job since he’s been at Oregon.”
The Ducks’ offense has looked different since assistant quarterbacks coach Jay Johnson took over play-calling duties from Mehringer. Oregon’s points per game jumped from 24 to 34.5 in wins over Northwestern and Ohio State.
Meyer said he’s generally not a fan of midseason coordinator changes, but he admitted this one appears to have worked.
“But I want to say this, too,” Meyer continued. “I’m not a big fan of changing coordinators.
Back when I was a young coach, and even in my career, firing coaches midseason. That was really… People didn’t really do that that often.
It’s not something I really believe in, but it’s something they did. It certainly looks like the right decision.”
Meyer’s breakdown of the game film also zeroed in on one of Oregon’s most daring calls of the day. With the Ducks trailing 14-3 and 2:21 left in the first half, Lanning dialed up a fake punt between outside linebackers Teitum Tuioti and Matayo Uiagalelei that went for 30 yards and helped ignite the comeback.
“The score is 14-3, 2:21 right before the half, this is a big call,” Meyer said, breaking down game film on the podcast. “As a matter of fact, I’m kind of surprised Ohio State wasn’t in prevent, because that’s how you steal position.”
“Fourth-and-10 at their own 30, and just to make it more interesting, he’s going to have two defensive players, two linebackers, executing a jump pass," Meyer said.
"I can say on record that I have never seen a jump pass from a punt formation," he added. "But even to make it a little more spicy, these are two defensive players, two defensive linebackers. This is Teitum Tuioti flipping the ball to Matayo (Uiagalelei), another big cat out here."
"You can tell they’ve practiced this for a long time," he said. "This not only gets them enough for another possession, but it gets them back in the game.”
Oregon turned that momentum into a first-half finish, opting against a field goal and instead taking a 17-14 lead on a two-yard keeper by tight end Jamari Johnson as the clock expired.
“Analytics probably tells you to take the points and get out of there at halftime at 14-13,” Meyer said. “On the road.
But not Dan Lanning. Not the coaching staff.
Very aggressive here. Look at the mechanics of this thing.
The left guard is calling cadence. Quarterback sneak, or as we should call it, tight end sneak.”
Meyer also highlighted wide receiver Dakorien Moore’s role in springing running back Dierre Hill Jr. for a 48-yard rushing touchdown on a counter play.
“I can promise you, knowing Oregon’s culture,” Meyer said, “they spent as much time on Dakorien Moore making these two blocks as they did the great effort by Dierre Hill scoring the touchdown.”
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