Dan Lanning weaponized the Jump Around dance to lead Oregon to beat Wisconsin

bryan kalbrosky

Wed, Nov 20, 2024, 10:37 a.m.·3 min read

Oregon football head coach Dan Lanning has continued to embarrass his opponents this season, now adding Wisconsin as a new target.

During the latest episode of "Ducks vs Them" released on Tuesday, fans got an inside look at how Lanning was able to rally Oregon during a comeback road victory against the Badgers on Saturday.

One of the main strategies was to use the song "Jump Around" as a primary motivator. Camp Randall Stadium, where Wisconsin plays home football games, has that song play between the third and fourth quarter like how the Ducks have "Shout" at Autzen Stadium in Eugene.

Lanning spoke to his players and said that "everybody know what time it is" when that "Jump Around" song comes on.

The video then took fans behind-the-scenes to practice on Monday, when Lanning walked into a team meeting blasting "Jump Around" by House of Pain.

Relating it back to Pavlov's dog, while showing videos of Wisconsin fans dancing to the song, he said when when Wisconsin plays this song, it is meant to evoke a response from the opposing players. Lanning agreed, but he wanted to control what message it sent.

"In this game and throughout this week, you are going to hear this song. It's going to release dopamine in your mind. It's going to tell you that you're hungry to go win. Whenever we hear this, I want our temperature to change. I want the temperature in the room to change. When we hear it at practice, it's about to get serious. When that song comes on at practice, I want you to reset your mind for what you're about to do."

Fans then saw Oregon players dancing to "Jump Around" during practices before the game.

The coach wanted his players to "enjoy the moment" when it shows up and to "take advantage" of it. The video then cuts to the Ducks enjoying themselves on the field when "Jump Around" actually plays between the third and fourth quarter.

Down 7 on the road and Oregon LEANS in to Jump Around. pic.twitter.com/EJd1Vt92gh
— ☘️LegalizeQuack☘️ (@Legalize_Quack) November 17, 2024

Not only did the players dance but The Duck mascot also jumped around on a pogo stick.

Oregon then went for it on fourth down as Dillon Gabriel competed a very difficult pass to tight end Terrance Ferguson.

The fourth quarter belonged to the Ducks, who looked like the far better team following this sudden tonal change. Oregon eventually secured a pick to win the game with a much-needed interception by Matayo Uiagalelei.

Back in the locker room, Lanning chose to "crank that song" and play "Jump Around" to celebrate the win.

Everything Oregon had to say tonight about... jumping around during "Jump Around":

Lanning: "Kind of like Pavlov's Dog, when you hear that song it means it's time to go."

Boettcher: "We played that every single practice. We knew going into the 4th quarter that was going to be a… pic.twitter.com/SlJ0Zirbln
— Brenna Greene (@BrennaGreene_) November 17, 2024

During postgame press conferences, several from the Ducks (including Lanning) explained their reasoning for the "Jump Around" celebration.

This was incredibly clever maneuvering from Lanning, who has shown boldness and creativity during Oregon's first season in a new conference.

Oregon remains undefeated with one game left in the regular season and has earned a berth in the Big Ten Football Championship Game before the next College Football Playoff.