Oregon football’s offense hummed in a 69-3 victory on Sept. 6 against Oklahoma State, racking up 631 total yards, averaging 10.1 yards per play and moving up the field effortlessly in a way one power conference program seldom does against another.
Even the Ducks’ drives that didn’t end in points served a purpose.
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With a 66-point lead in hand, Oregon punted on its final two drives of the game, despite being in Oklahoma State territory in the first instance. As Ducks coach Dan Lanning joked in a news conference this week, he believed he needed to get punter James Ferguson-Reynolds on the field.
“I was worried if we didn’t punt, we’d probably lose the punter to the portal,” Lanning said. “So I wanted to make sure we got an opportunity.”
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The punts were Oregon’s first two of the season. In a 59-13 Week 1 victory against FCS powerhouse Montana State, each of its first nine possessions ended with a touchdown or field goal before it ran the remaining clock out on its final drive.
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Sending in the punt team with a fourth-and-5 at the Oklahoma State 41 with 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter was a notable moment of mercy from Lanning, who had spent the days leading up to the game in a back-and-forth with Cowboys coach Mike Gundy after the latter had made comments about how much the Ducks had spent on their roster.
If nothing else, an Oregon team that has outscored opponents this season by a 128-16 margin showed it can excel on special teams, as well, with Ferguson-Reynolds’ first punt getting downed at the Oklahoma State 5.
Ferguson-Reynolds won the job after a competition in fall training camp with teammate Ross James.
“He’s done a good job,” Lanning said. “And Ross had an unbelievable fall camp, like did a really good job. We had good competition. Ultimately, for both those guys, I think they made each other better, but (Ferguson-Reynolds) has done a good job. He’s earned that spot.”
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oregon’s Dan Lanning jokes he punted vs OSU to avoid punter transfer
