To win big college football games, you often need things to go your way. Whether that’s the ball bouncing in your direction or a call going in your favor, top-10 matchups are often not won without a little bit of luck.
In the Oregon Ducks‘ 30-24 double-overtime win over the Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday night, there was one call in particular that did not go their way. During the Ducks‘ first offensive drive in overtime, running back Jayden Limar took the ball up the middle of the field and was brought down by two defenders, one of whom hit him squarely in the face with his helmet.
From the looks of it, the play should have been flagged for a targeting penalty, as the defender led with the crown of his helmet. However, no flag was thrown, and even after the officials reviewed the play for targeting, it was deemed to be a clean hit.
NO targeting on this from Penn State’s Amare Campbell just head knocking Oregon’s Jayden Limar
🎥 @sluggahjellspic.twitter.com/3gYibNu6G8
— The Whole Delivery (@TWDTV1) September 28, 2025
Despite the call not going their way, Oregon still managed to score on that drive, forcing a second overtime period. They then scored on the first play of double-OT, and got an interception on Penn State’s first 2OT play, ending the game in walk-off fashion.
So it’s water under the bridge, right?
Well, Dan Lanning is not someone to forget things, and he certainly had some thoughts on the call — or non-call — on Monday when talking to Taylor Lewan and Will Compton on their “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast.
“Jayden Limar is a beast, man,” Lanning said. “To be able to handle that… Somebody told me it had something to do with a hairline. I saw a meme afterwards on Twitter of, like, a hairline, like, all the way back around his head. I mean, I guess I shouldn’t say anything. I don’t know. Yeah, I thought it was targeting.”
This is the meme that Lanning was referring to:
” it wasn’t with his crown, it was more with his hairline”
The hairline https://t.co/dqn9zLzuwKpic.twitter.com/1PqyjEjo1Z
— PUDDLES (@scoduckz) September 28, 2025
While Lanning did a good job of composing himself and not saying things that could subject him to a fine from the Big Ten for criticizing the referees, he did go a bit deeper on the play. When asked what the explanation was from the officials, and how it was watching the replay alongside the refs, he had this to say:
“They didn’t play it in the stadium, obviously,” Lanning said. “They didn’t play the replay up top, you know, because everybody in the stadium that would have seen that replay would have been like, ‘Oh, he’s done,’ right? Like, if that’s not, I don’t know what is. All they tell you is, ‘We’re looking at it up top. We’re looking at it up top.’ So it’s really frustrating as a coach, and you’re like, ‘What are they looking at? What do they see?’ Because that felt like one that was pretty clear, and I guess it wasn’t, you know. You’ve got to stick to what the rules are, and the rules obviously say that was not targeting.”
In the end, all played out well for the Ducks as they went on to win the game in double overtime. Going forward, though, you can assume that Lanning is going to be watching these targeting calls and non-calls a bit more closely.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon’s Dan Lanning comments on missed Jayden Limar targeting call
