Oregon secured a victory in Week 2 against Boise State in a spectacular game filled with incredible plays. However, one play in particular upset Dan Lanning of the Ducks. Despite the initial frustration, the play wasn’t as costly as it could have been, as another of his players saved the day with a crucial touchdown.
The highly controversial play involved a touchdown by Noah Whittington, who ran the kickoff back 100 yards for an amazing touchdown. However, just before crossing the goal line, he dropped the ball. After a review by the officials, the play was ultimately ruled a touchdown.
In the post-game press conference following Oregon’s 37-34 win over Boise State, Ducks head coach Dan Lanning discussed his feelings about the play where Noah dropped the ball and another player recovered it, saying he felt anger.
“Anger… first, right, anger and then relief when I found out who picked the ball up, but it’s something we can learn from. And I think if you’re not learning as coaches and players then you’re not doing your job.”
The Play That Frustrated Dan Lanning
Noah Whittington’s play was spectacular—a 100-yard kickoff return, one of those rare college football season moments. The game was in the 4th quarter, and Noah caught the ball with 10 minutes left on the clock while Oregon was trailing 27-34 against Boise State. As soon as he had the ball in his hands, he ran from right to left and finally reached the end zone.
But as was evident and as head coach Dan Lanning saw, the crucial moment of that ‘bad’ decision by Noah was when Jayden Limar picked up the ball. This confirmed the touchdown, and after a review from New York, the 6 points for Oregon were quickly validated.