Dan Lanning Says Mike Gundy Put 'Gasoline on the Fire' Before Oregon Win vs. OK State

Oregon coach Dan Lanning said Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy's comments about the Ducks spending "a lot of money" on their roster helped motivate his players to secure Saturday night's 69-3 blowout win over the visiting Cowboys.

"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," Lanning said (h/t KOIN News' Brenna Greene). "I felt like these guys wanted the chance to go prove who they are.

"I'm sure— I got a lot of respect for Coach Gundy, but probably, at his press conference, he's probably saying, 'See, I told you so.' Right? That's probably what his comment is. But that doesn't change we have to play to be a winning football team."

Lanning continued, "Bryce Boettcher played good today. He came here for a backpack and a t-shirt."

After scoring a touchdown on the second play of the game, Oregon went on to rack up 631 total yards of offense to hand Gundy the worst loss of his Oklahoma State career.

Gundy appeared to make multiple references to Oregon's NIL spending in the week leading up to his matchup with the Ducks.

When asked about Oregon during a Monday press conference, Gundy answered, per 247Sports' Matt Prehm: "They're a good football team. Oregon is playing really well. I think they're well coached, they're spending a lot of money, and they've put a lot into that organization."

Gundy also claimed on his weekly radio show that Oregon spent "close to $40 million" on its team last season, compared to what he said was $7 million spent on Oklahoma State's roster over the last three years, per ESPN's Paolo Uggetti.

"What I hear from chatter from coaches around the country is that non-conference scheduling should be based on the financial situation for each school," Gundy said during Monday's radio show, per Prehm.

After Gundy went on to concede one of the largest defeats in Oklahoma State program history against Lanning's team, he told reporters his comments were meant as a "compliment to Oregon for what they have done."

"We have to be better and fundamentally sound and execute. That's really what it comes down to," Gundy said after Saturday's loss (h/t the Oregonian's Aaron J. Fentress). "And then, as I said, sometimes you're going to play people that have the ability to run away from you. Okay, well then, we've got to look at that and see where we're at.

"But we didn't play good enough, with the systems that we had, and execute to put ourselves in that position."

Oklahoma State struggled to a 3-9 finish with no conference wins in 2024, the program's worst record since Gundy took the helm in 2005.

The university had "tense discussions about Gundy's future" following the 2024 season, ESPN's Adam Rittenberg previously reported. He is now coaching this season on a revised contract that includes a reduced salary and a buyout option, per Rittenberg.

Gundy will look to get the Cowboys back in the win column during next Friday's home game against Tulsa.