EUGENE – Oregon actually had 12 men on defense in the penultimate play of its win over Ohio State.

Many commentators and fans praised Oregon coach Dan Lanning for a brilliant strategic decision after the game and in the days following. Lanning didn't deny that he took up the clock for five yards that ended up being meaningless.

“We spend an inordinate amount of time on situations,” Lanning said. “There are some situations that don't happen very often in college football, but we've obviously worked on this one. You could see the result.”

The Ducks called a timeout with 10 seconds left in Saturday's game while the Buckeyes were on third down and 25 seconds from the UO 43-yard line. Just before Ohio State snapped the ball, Oregon cornerback Dontae Manning entered the field on the left side of the defense, giving UO too many men on the field and a numerical advantage over OSU's three receivers on the right side of its formation and gave the running back .

That helped get Will Howard to throw for Jeremiah Smith, who was covered by Jabbar Muhammad, Oregon's top cornerback, while safety Kobe Savage moved over the top to the field side of the defense. Muhammad broke up the pass, Oregon was penalized five yards and, most importantly for UO, there were four seconds left.

On the ensuing play, Howard stumbled and slipped as time expired.

No. 2 Oregon (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) at Purdue (1-5, 0-3)

• When: Friday, October 18th
• Time: 5:00 p.m. PT
• Where: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
• TV channels: fox
• Electricity: You can Watch this game live for FREE with Fubo (free trial) or with DirecTV Stream (free trial). If you already have a provider, you can also watch this game live on Fox Sports Live using your cable or satellite provider login details.
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— James Crepea covers that Oregon Ducks and Big Ten. Listen to this Ducks Confidential Podcast or subscribe Ducks Roundup Newsletter.