Lanning says Oregon DT won't face discipline for play that hurt Iamaleava

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  Adam RittenbergOct 12, 2026, 11:37 PM ET

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  College football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.

Oregon defensive tackle Bear Alexander will not face discipline for what coach Dan Lanning said was a late attempt to punch the ball out from UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava in Saturday's 17-15 loss.

As Iamaleava was tackled on a second-quarter scramble, TV replays showed Alexander twist the quarterback's helmet and swing his right arm, which struck Iamaleava in the chin but did not jar the ball loose. Iamaleava sustained a knee injury on the play that left the team with a "serious concern" about his outlook, coach Bob Chesney said earlier Monday.

Chesney did not see the punch from Alexander live but noted that Iamaleava said he was being punched.

"When you see it, it's certainly egregious," Chesney said. "It shouldn't be a play that is allowed to occur in this sport, and it's a shame that that was missed [by officials]."

Lanning said Oregon tried to be aggressive in punching the ball out on quarterback runs.

"Obviously [the punch is] late and it's not the way it needs to be done and wasn't executed the right way," Lanning said. "Bear knows that. One of the first things he said to me was, 'I wasn't trying to hurt the guy.' ... You don't want to see it play out like that, but you want your players to be aggressive."

Alexander finished with six tackles in the game.

Lanning also said Oregon will have changes to its offensive operation going forward but did not elaborate, citing competitive advantage. He defended offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer and the offensive staff. The Ducks host Nebraska this week.

"There's going to be some changes, some differences in the way that we operate and what we do, and there already is, the way we've operated this week," Lanning said. "But as far as revealing how we'll do that, what things will look like, I'm not going to share that with [the media]."