Dan Lanning explains decision to fake field late in 4th quarter vs. Wisconsin

Facing a 4th and 4, deep in Wisconsin territory, and leading the Badgers 16-13, Dan Lanning faced a simple decision: Kick a field goal to try for a six point lead, or go for the first down and win the game?

With less than two minutes to play and Wisconsin short on timeouts, Lanning still sent out the field goal unit. But it was a called fake, with the holder taking it up the middle and, ultimately, getting stopped short.

The Ducks ultimately survived, turning over the Badgers shortly over the turnover on downs and kneeling out the game. In a postgame interview with NBC’s Kathryn Tappen, Lanning was unabashed about the decision, despite the play not working out.

“We felt like the look was there. We’d seen it consistently throughout the day. Obviously we were a half yard short, so that’s an easy one to second guess,” Lanning said.

And by holding on for a 16-13 win, the Ducks have stayed undefeated and go to 11-0 with a bye before the final game of the season, against arch-rival Washington.

Lanning knows the Ducks wouldn’t be in this position without the Oregon defense coming up big time and again on Saturday, including the final interception to seal the win.

“They’re resilient, right? There’s different games where the other side of the ball’s gotta put the team on their back. The defense put the team on their back tonight. They did just enough to give us that opportunity,” Lanning said.

And on a night where the Ducks were down 13-6 in the second half, necessitating a comeback, Lanning was mostly just grateful his team hung on and scratched and clawed to do just enough to get a win and stay perfect.

“We needed every second, we needed every moment, we needed the next play,” Lanning said. “Our guys fought for it, it’s a tough battle. Credit to Wisconsin, played a hell of a game. But we just had just enough at the end to make the difference.”