Oklahoma State was supposed to be the first early-season test for Oregon when the Cowboys traveled to Eugene on Saturday. However, the Ducks trounced the Cowboys in a 69-3 whooping.
As if Oregon wasn't motivated enough for the early-season matchup, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy added fuel to the fire earlier in the week with comments regarding the discrepancy in each team's NIL spending.
That didn't sit well with Oregon's head coach Dan Lanning or his quarterback, Dante Moore, and the Ducks let the Cowboys know it on Saturday.
Oregon Responds to Mike Gundy's Comments
Oregon didn't need any added motivation, but Gundy provided that earlier in the week.
"We spent around $7 million over the last three years, and I think Oregon spent close to $40 (million) last year alone," Gundy said.
Lanning used that as motivation for his team throughout the week, and it led to the largest margin of defeat for Oklahoma State since 1907.
"I told our team right before the game that, you know, it never requires extra motivation for an opportunity to go out and kick (expletive), but it never hurts when somebody pours gasoline on the fire," Lanning said postgame. "So, I felt like these guys wanted the chance to go prove who they are."
Oregon 69, Oklahoma State 3
— Max Olson (@max_olson) September 6, 2025
- Worst loss of the Mike Gundy era
- Most points allowed in the Gundy era
- Second-fewest passing yards (67) in the Gundy era
- Second-most yards/play allowed (10.2) in the Gundy era pic.twitter.com/MQLteX3A26
Lanning added that he has a lot of respect for Gundy, but the Cowboys head coach was probably thinking, "See, I told you so," at his postgame press conference.
Lanning's freshman quarterback, Moore, also took Gundy's comments to the heart, and felt like the Ducks' dominant performance was driven by the added fuel.
"You attack our head coach, it's like attacking, you know, my dad, to be honest. It's like you're attacking a family member," Moore said. "And I feel like the whole team is kind of - it's going to hit close to home. And we knew that every week that, you know, it's always going to be some trash talk happening, but for him to attack Phil (Knight) and then attack coach Lanning or attack our team was kind of personal.
"This whole week, we just use that fire to make sure that we push ourselves and score 69 points and we did that. It was a lot of fire under this game but overall feel like we were cool, calm, collective. But, coach Lanning said like, 'We going to keep the foot on the neck, make sure we score as many points (as possible), and try to break the scoreboard.'"
THREE PLAYS. TWO TOUCHDOWNS.
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) September 6, 2025
65-yard touchdown for 5-star freshman Dakorien Moore! @oregonfootball 🦆 pic.twitter.com/fA7KUyHjtg
The Ducks didn't break the scoreboard literally, but you could say they did figuratively. Oregon put up 41 points in the first half and scored 69 points through three quarters.
The Ducks averaged 10.17 yards per play, which was their most since 2016 against a Power 4/5 opponent.
Lanning also made sure to let everyone know there's plenty of talented players on Oregon's team who aren't getting paid millions of dollars.
"We have good players, you know, one of our best, Bryce Boettcher, played good today. He came here for a backpack and a T-shirt," Lanning said. "So I'm really proud of those guys on our team that, you know, have developed into great players. The guys that watched other people play last year and now playing for us. Like, that's what makes this team great."
The Ducks' responded in a massive way on Saturday to Gundy's comments made earlier in the week. Now, Oregon will travel to Northwestern to face the Wildcats next week.