UCLA beat Oregon 17-15 on Saturday in Eugene and moved to 5-0. Late in the first half, Oregon defensive tackle Bear Alexander and linebacker Jerry Mixon tackled UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava on a short scramble. TV replays showed Alexander twist Iamaleava's helmet and swing his right arm. The swing hit the quarterback in the chin but didn't knock the ball loose. Officials didn't throw a flag. Iamaleava hurt his knee on the same tackle and didn't play the second half. CBS Sports reports he's expected to miss the rest of the season. On Monday, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said Alexander won't face team discipline. The Big Ten's commissioner can still suspend him for up to two games. As of Monday night, it hadn't said anything about the play.

It Was a Late Swing at the Ball (Dan Lanning)

Oregon's coach says Alexander was trying to punch the ball out, and that the punch didn't cause the injury.

Oregon's coach says his defenders are taught to go after the ball. Lanning said Alexander "was trying to take a ball shot." "We're pretty aggressive about when the quarterback's running, there are opportunities where the ball is loose," he said.

The coach admits the timing was wrong. "Obviously, it's late, right? It's not the way it needs to be done. It wasn't executed the right way," Lanning said. He said he thinks Alexander feels bad. "One of the first things he said to me was, 'I wasn't trying to hurt the guy,'" Lanning said.

He says the punch didn't end Iamaleava's season. "I don't think that's how he got hurt. I think it was actually on a lower extremity," Lanning said. Newsweek also reports the knee injury happened before the punch. Lanning still wants the same effort from his players. "You want your players to be aggressive and try to punch the ball out," he said.

The Officials Should Have Caught It (Bob Chesney)

UCLA's coach says the play was egregious and has no place in the sport.

UCLA's coach didn't see it live, but his quarterback told him. Bob Chesney is in his first year as UCLA's head coach. He said the play happened on Oregon's sideline, so he missed it. Iamaleava told him, "They keep punching me in the face."

He calls the play egregious. "When you see it, it's certainly egregious," Chesney said Monday, hours before Lanning spoke. "It shouldn't be a play that is allowed to occur in this sport, and it's a shame that that was missed."

The league already admitted one mistake from this game. On Sunday, the Big Ten said its officials "incorrectly officiated" Oregon's last two-point try. That was a separate play late in the fourth quarter. That statement didn't mention Alexander.

The Swing Came Late and Nowhere Near the Ball (Zach Ragan, Clay Sauertieg, Dean Ralsky)

Critics say the punch came late and nowhere near the ball, and fans want a suspension.

One writer says intent doesn't change what happened. Zach Ragan writes for A to Z Sports. "I'm not going to judge his intent," he wrote. "But regardless of intent, Alexander took a swing and hit Iamaleava in the head and didn't come anywhere close to touching the ball."

Another writer says the quarterback was already down. Clay Sauertieg is an editor at BroBible. On Saturday, he predicted Oregon would defend the hit as a swing at the ball. "However, Iamaleava was already down by contact, and the punch didn't land anywhere near the ball," he wrote.

People started reacting on Saturday. Dean Ralsky of On3 posted, "Disgusting late hit (punch) from Oregon DT Bear Alexander on UCLA QB Nico Iamaleava. No flag from the refs; they didn't see it." Fans called for a suspension. "Alexander should be suspended for that. And this from a Duck fan," one wrote.

Lanning's Words About USC Now Apply to His Own Player (Olamilekan Ajayi, Matt De Lima, Rowan Fisher-Shotton)

Writers say Lanning's words about USC's hit on Oregon's quarterback now apply to his own player.

Two weeks ago, Oregon's coach condemned a hit on his own quarterback. On Sept. 26, USC linebacker Desman Stephens II hit Oregon quarterback Dante Moore as he slid. Moore went to the hospital with a concussion, and USC suspended Stephens one game. "Our guys respect the game," Lanning said after the game. "I don't think you'd ever see that from our players. I don't think you'd ever see that from our coaches." He called it "a disgusting play."

Writers say both plays show a shot on a defenseless quarterback. Olamilekan Ajayi writes for Gridiron Heroics. He said both plays show "a defenseless quarterback taking a shot after he was already going down or on the ground." "Lanning's own words about what Oregon players would never do now sit alongside tape of his starting defensive tackle," he wrote. Matt De Lima of Sports Illustrated wrote that Lanning's USC comments "add pressure on Oregon."

Not everyone says the plays match. Rowan Fisher-Shotton of Newsweek noted the differences. Officials never saw this one, and the knee injury reportedly came before the punch. "Still, the optics are similar enough that Oregon now faces the same question of discipline Lanning left to others," he wrote.

Where This Lands

Lanning says Alexander made a late, clumsy try at the ball, and Oregon won't punish him. Chesney calls the punch egregious and blames the officials for missing it. Ragan and Sauertieg say the swing never came near the ball. Fans want Alexander suspended. Ajayi and De Lima say Lanning's own words about the USC hit now apply to Oregon. Now it's up to the Big Ten. Its commissioner can suspend Alexander for up to two games without committee approval. Unless the Big Ten acts, Alexander is in line to play Nebraska on Saturday.

Sources