The Oregon Ducks looked very much like a national title contender, and it came at the expense of a program that has double-digit wins in two of the last four seasons. That program's coach had a lot to say before the game, and the Ducks made him and the Oklahoma State Cowboys pay.
After a 69-3 win, it would've been very easy to victory lap over Mike Gundy, but Dan Lanning instead pointed out his own team's shortcomings. That, as well as the result of trash talking Oregon, should be concerning for the rest of the sport, ESPN's Paolo Ugetti said.
"Despite the fact that the Ducks trounced Oklahoma State 69-3 after the two coaches traded comments on their program's financial resources earlier in the week, Lanning was all business and called out the team's five penalties in the first half as something Oregon can improve on," Ugetti said.
The fact that there were some negatives in a 66-point win is emblematic of where Oregon is at. They're just that good. "Lanning said there was no extra motivation for the Ducks heading into this game, but they welcomed the gasoline that Cowboys coach Mike Gundy poured onto their fire with his comments. Safe to say other teams have been warned: Before talking about the Ducks, try to keep up with them first," Ugetti concluded.
Not only did this outing serve as a reminder to any normal college football programs out there that the Ducks are not like them, it served as a reminder to be very careful with what you say about them before matching up. Lanning does not mess around, and Gundy found that out the hard way.