Sloppy mistakes and mental lapses fueled a costly upset for the Ducks. Now, Dan Lanning demands accountability before persistent flags derail Oregon’s College Football Playoff ambitions.
The Oregon Ducks lived dangerously with penalties early in the season, and it bit them in a 39-31 loss to Oklahoma State in Week 2.
The Ducks survived committing 10 penalties for 90 yards in their 34-27 win over Boise State in Week 1. Oregon was concerned about the amount of penalties in that game, but turned around and committed seven penalties for 66 yards against Oklahoma State.
OSU was just penalized two times for 30 yards.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning told reporters on Monday that the team needs to resolve the problem.
"Well, if you get penalties one week and they hurt you the next week, I think that's an indicator that we're not resolving the problem," he said, via USA Today. "When one guy jumps offsides in one game and then turns around and jumps offsides in the next game, his level of focus isn't where it needs to be.
"A lot of things can contribute to that, but it has to be better," Lanning said. "And that being said, there's going to be aggressive penalties within games. There are things that we can coach better."
Lanning was frustrated when his players jumped offsides on short downs. Receiver Dillon Gresham was called offsides on a 3rd and 2 from the Oklahoma State 43-yard line. That drive ended on downs via a sack.
"But to have an offside on a fourth and one when you spend extensive time on it, that's inexcusable," he said. "A freshman jumping offside on a short-yardage situation, in a new environment, first road game.
"Sometimes that's going to happen, but you have to be able to overcome those circumstances. Ultimately... we can't have that. We can't be penalized like that and expect to have great success."
Oregon has too much experience and talent on its side to commit 17 penalties in the first two weeks. The Ducks survived against Boise State, but it was a key reason why they lost to OSU.
If that issue isn't corrected before the Big Ten schedule, Oregon could find itself out of the College Football Playoff picture.
