Inside the Conversation As the Ducks Dialed up the Fake Punt 'Leap'

The game against Ohio State changed when Dan Lanning and the Ducks pulled the trigger on the fake punt in the second quarter. It was as gutsy a decision as you could possibly make, but oftentimes, good things are on the other side of a risk, and for the Ducks, it was exactly that.

The fake punt was the beginning of the avalanche, and then from there it was all Ducks, literally. At that point, Oregon would score 38 unanswered points to grab a chokehold on the game from the Buckeyes. It was the biggest run that the Buckeyes gave up in over 25 years of the program.

There we several different perspectives on the fake punt, let's look at them all.

The Preparation

One thing that is not widely known is that the decisions to run a fake are not snap choices; they are carefully thought-out decisions. It is not like you are playing Madden and you just say, "eh, let's go for it."

The Ducks had been preparing for this moment for a very long time. They put this fake punt in during camp, and it was the perfect counter to the fakes that they had run many times before. The majority of their fakes were runs to the left, just as that play started. 

They knew that and put that changeup in. Then, they had to wait for the perfect look, which the Buckeyes gave them.

The Call

The preparation goes back a long time, but the decision is fast. As the Ducks were preparing to punt, the call came in from the top. 'Run it, run leap. Let 'em hang."

That's what came through the headset, and at that moment they made the call. The spot on the field was actually the perfect one to run a fake. No one in the stadium believed that they would run it because if it failed, well, the game was likely over. 

Because no one was expecting it, no one was ready for it and it worked to perfection.

Coaches see it

The video of Ryan Day on the sideline is a clip that says a million words. He believed that the snap went high and went over the punter's head, basically ending the football game. And then, he saw what was happening. Once he saw that, his heart broke into pieces.

As you can imagine, the other sideline was completely opposite.

The Response

Running the fake is one thing; capitalizing on it is a totally different thing. The Ducks took the opportunity, gathered the momentum, and used it to propel them forward. 38 unanswered points are amazing, and because of that, their season is alive, and the Buckeyes' season, on the contrary, is on its deathbed.