Dan Lanning on Mike Gundy feud: ‘He’s probably saying see, I told you so’

Dan Lanning didn’t pass up on the opportunity to take a shot at Mike Gundy postgame after Oregon defeated Oklahoma State. The Ducks rolled to a 69-3 victory in a game that was never close, asserting their dominance after a week filled with trash talking between the two coaches.

Gundy made headlines leading up to the contest with his comments regarding the Ducks’ NIL budget and how that helped them to build their current roster. Speaking following the blowout victory, Lanning addressed how that served as extra motivation for his team while also calling out Gundy once more.

“I told our team right before the game that it never requires extra motivation for an opportunity to go out and kick ass, but it never hurts when somebody pours gasoline on the fire,” he said. “I felt like these guys wanted the chance to go prove who they are. I’ve got a lot of respect for coach Gundy, but at his press conference, he’s probably saying, ‘See, I told you so.’ That’s probably what his comment is.

“But that doesn’t change the way we have to play to be a winning football team. We have good players. One of our best, Bryce Boettcher, played good today. He came here for a backpack and a t-shirt. So I’m really proud of those guys on our team that have developed into great players.”

Earlier in the week, Gundy claimed that Oregon would have to pay “a lot of money” to keep quarterback Dante Moore on their roster beyond this season. He also took aim at the Ducks for the amount they spent on their roster and suggested they should schedule tougher opponents.

“I think Oregon spent close to $40 (million) last year alone,” Gundy said. “So, that was just one year. Now, I might be off a few million. …Oregon is paying a lot, a lot of money for their team. From a nonconference standpoint there’s coaches saying they should (play teams with similar budgets).”

Oklahoma State never stood a chance against the Ducks, who scored two touchdowns within the first two minutes of the game. They led 41-3 at halftime and didn’t stop piling it on to start the third quarter.

Moore finished 16-of-21 passing for 266 yards and three touchdowns after being called out by Gundy. It’s clear that the Ducks came out with something to prove and they didn’t let up until the final whistle.

Dan Lanning was proud of his team’s performance, but downplayed that everything had to do with the pregame comments from Mike Gundy. Although they served as additional motivation, the coach added that this is the way he always hopes his team plays regardless of what was said on the other side.

“It’s still about us. It’s always been about us,” Lanning said. “Our ability to ignore the noise is the thing that’s gonna make us go and uphold the standard. If you step on the field for us, in our mind you’re a starter. You have a standard to uphold. It doesn’t matter if it was the last drive of the game there. There’s a standard. There’s an expectation. Our guys have upheld that so far.”