Dan Lanning addresses sideline scuffle in Oregon's Week 5 win
Oregon quarterback Bo Nix had no ill intent when he delivered a late hit Saturday in a 45-27 victory against Stanford. After Cardinal safety Patrick Fields picked up a loose ball and began taking off the other direction, Nix chased him down and knocked him out of bounds.
However, what Nix failed to realize was that the play had already been whistled dead. That led to a scuffle between the two teams that resulted in the ejection of receiver Seven McGee, the player who lost the ball on the previous play.
But McGee’s antics, while in defense of his quarterback, were not appropriate in the eyes of head coach Dan Lanning. At a press conference this week, when asked about the incident and ensuing ejection, Dan Lanning was quick to admit his player had screwed up.
“I think everybody understands it’s not what we want to be. You know, everybody wants to protect their teammates and you operate in moments of passion. But there’s certain ways you handle situations, and certain ways you don’t. And that’s one that we don’t want for us. You know, didn’t help us. There’s no benefit there. So yeah, we absolutely addressed it and moving on.”
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Bo Nix was in the same boat. Though he caused the fracas, Nix realized that McGee and the other players involved took things a little bit too far.
“After that, it’s a little excessive, but it’s an honor to know my team has my back like that,” he said. “It’s really special to see that. But at the same time, we can tone it back a little bit and be a little bit smarter.”
Nix finished the game 16-of-29 passing for 161 yards in addition to 141 yards rushing and four total touchdowns. Saturday marked the fourth straight victory for the Ducks after they lost to Georgia in Week 1, and they moved up to No. 12 in the AP poll as a result.
They’ll travel to Arizona this coming weekend for an evening kickoff against a Wildcat offense that’s scoring more than 30 points a game. Don’t call it a trap game, but after four straight W’s and a huge home game vs. No. 18 UCLA on the horizon, Oregon needs to stay focused this week, especially on the defensive end.