Dan Lanning pressed to compare Oregon success, Oklahoma State ‘falling behind’

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning was pressed to compare the Ducks and Oklahoma State’s success considering the Cowboys were “falling behind.” This came on the heels of Oregon’s 69-3 win over Oklahoma State and after Lanning and Mike Gundy traded barbs in the media about NIL.

For context, here is the full question that ended Lanning’s presser Saturday: “When this series was scheduled in 2018, each of these programs were in very different places. Is this what adapting and going from good to great and being built to last in college football in 2025 looks like, versus maybe failing to do so and not adapting quick enough and falling behind?”

Lanning focused his answer on Oregon, rather than answer what Oklahoma State has or has not done. But it’s clear Oregon’s been more successful as of late.

“I can’t speak to any other team’s situation than ours,” Lanning said. “But I can tell you that’s part of what separated Oregon for a long time. We’re always looking ‘what’s next and how do we have to adjust?’”

From 2018-21, Mario Cristobal was the head coach, going 35-13, winning two Pac-12 titles and a Rose Bowl in 2019. Lanning has been the head coach since, going 37-6, which includes this season. They won the Big Ten last year and were the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.

So put that all together, Oregon has a program record of 82-19. Pretty darn impressive by all accounts.

On the flip side, Oklahoma State under Gundy, since 2018, is 56-36 and has just two bowl game victories. The peak was 201 when Oklahoma State went 12-2 and finished No. 7 in the final AP Poll.

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).”

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.”