Around the Big Ten: Dan Lanning goes viral, Jason Kelce apologizes for the incident

On By Pranco

The number 1 Oregon ducks are making headlines for more than just their on-field performances.

Oregon’s latest viral moment came from a usual suspect: coach Dan Lanning, whose Gladiator-inspired motivational tool has some fans and former players ready to run through a brick wall.

Elsewhere around the Big Ten: a cell phone incident involving Jason Kelce, and Urban Meyer’s selection for national coach of the year.

Each week throughout the season, The Oregonian/OregonLive will share the stories we’re reading and watching from around the Big Ten.

‘It’s been thumbs down all day’

Lanning has deployed some unique motivational tools for the Ducks this season, and it has paid off. This past week, ahead of the Michigan road game, the Oregon coach compared their trip to the Big House to parts of Teddy Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech.

Oregon also watched the 2000 classic starring Russell Crowe, “Gladiator,” and used the thumbs down celebration during the game as it showed no mercy to the Wolverines in a 38-17 win. Clips of Lanning behind the scenes of the Michigan game, taken from Oregon’s weekly ‘Ducks vs. Them’ docuseries, went viral as a result.

‘I have chosen to greet hate with hate’

Speaking of viral moments, former Eagles center Jason Kelce had one of his own this weekend, lighting up a fan’s cell phone during the Ohio State-Penn State game after the fan called Jason’s brother and podcast partner Travis a homophobic slur. While the internet largely came together in Kelce’s defense after he responded to the fan’s horrific behavior, Kelce apologized for repeating the slur against the fan in the heated moments after he spiked the phone.

“I think everyone on social media saw what happened this week,” Kelce, now an ESPN NFL analyst, said during the Monday Night Football pregame broadcast. “Listen, I’m not happy with what happened. I’m not proud of it. In a heated moment, I chose to greet hate with hate, and I just don’t think that’s a productive thing, really. I don’t think this will lead to any discussion and that it is the right way to go about things. At that point I dropped to a level I shouldn’t have.”

Cigarettes light it

Great Florida and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer has his pick for 2024 national coach of the year, and it’s far from controversial. Meyer believes Indiana’s Curt Cignetti — who has led the undefeated Hoosiers to a No. 8 ranking in the projected College Football Playoff field — deserves the award.

Meyer pointed to the spread in the Indiana-Michigan game as a prime example of how far the program has come.

“And I’m going to talk about this because they’re playing each other: Who would have thought that, 365 (days) removed from the worst team in the Big Ten, they’re playing the best team in the Big Ten? years ago, and they are a 14.5-point favorite,” Meyer said.

Iowa QB remains sidelined

Despite their recent success, the Iowa Hawkeyes are still on the mend. Previous starting quarterback Cade McNamara remains out with a concussion this Friday against UCLA, making way for replacement Brendan Sullivan to remain under center.

Sullivan has played well, leading the Hawkeyes to a 42-10 win over Wisconsin last weekend. Iowa has won both games since McNamara went down, and done so convincingly, so there likely won’t be a rush to make another quarterback change.

Wisconsin reveals its identity?

National reporters are starting to wonder what happened to Wisconsin under coach Luke Fickell. The team is 5-4, and a blowout loss to Iowa has raised big questions among fans and reporters alike. These aren’t your dad’s ties, some have noted.

Athletic’s Scott Dochterman was among those to criticize, saying Wisconsin is “forfeiting” its identity of tough defense and winning games in the trenches on both sides of the ball, leading to negative results. A tough situation with top-ranked Oregon coming to Madison next week.

No. 1 Oregon (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) vs. Maryland (4-4, 1-4)

— Ryan Clarke covers the Oregon ducks and Big Ten Conference. Listen to the Ducks confidential podcast or subscribe to the Ducks Roundup Newsletter.