NCAA Makes Final Decision on College Football Loophole Used in Oregon-Ohio State

Oregon's controversial coaching tactic to bleed time off the clock against Ohio State has resulted in an NCAA ruling.

Ducks head coach Dan Lanning purposefully sent 12 men on the field as the Buckeyes attempted to get into field goal position on the game's final drive with 10 seconds remaining. Ohio State's pass fell incomplete and a flag was thrown on Oregon. However, the penalty ultimately benefited the Ducks, as the play clock ticked down four seconds. The rule does not call for the play clock to be set back to the time before the play.

The Buckeyes' comeback fell short after quarterback Will Howard scrambled and the clock expired as he slid to the ground, giving Oregon a 32-31 win in Eugene.

Lanning confirmed his use of a loophole with the college football rule following the game.

“We spend an inordinate amount of time on situations, and there are some situations that don't show up very often in college football,” Lanning said after the game. "But this is one that obviously we have worked on. So, you can see the result.”

The NCAA began investigating the situation earlier this week in an effort to close the loophole altogether. As of Wednesday, using a 12-men penalty will not result in favor of the defense, according to a release by the NCAA .

“After the Two-Minute Timeout in either half, if the defense commits a substitution foul and 12 or more players are on the field and participate in a down, officials will penalize the defense for the foul and at the option of the offended team, reset the game clock back to the time displayed at the snap."

“The game clock will then restart on the next snap. If the 12th defender was attempting to exit but was still on the field at the snap and had no influence on the play, then the normal substitution penalty would be enforced with no clock adjustment.”

It's hard to blame the Oregon staff for taking advantage of a rule as it stood, though Buckeyes fans may have a different opinion. The play was certainly impactful in the game's final seconds.

Oregon (6-0) moved to No. 2 in the AP Poll with the Big Ten win and Ohio State (5-1) now sits at No. 4. There is a real chance that the two meet again in the conference title game.

Related: David Pollack Unloads on Ohio State QB Will Howard After Mistake in Oregon Loss