While I understand that the point spread, and the relative positions of the two teams were highly discussed and pronounced--I think another ancilairy element may have played a big part in all of this.

Dan Lanning in FOUR YEARS has NEVER lost to an unranked opponent.

This wasn't any non-ranked opponent...this was an opponent who had not won in a long time versus a P4 team, and just lost to TULSA for crying-out-loud? The fans, the coaches, and the team knew that Lanning never loses to an unranked opponent. They knew we would easily take care of business, and they were mentally on cruise-control.

Now add it being 140 degrees on the field....who wants to be in that game with a such a lowly opponent, and dealing with such vicious heat?

EVERY coach loses games he shouldn't, and we have been spoiled with HOW we have lost, when we lost to great teams. Good-gosh....Cristobal beats Ohio State in Columbus and then goes and loses to like a 4-win team at Stanford? Mario lost a bunch of those, and lost two games with unranked opponents just last year.

So until now....Lanning had never lost to such an unranked opponent, and I think this team was simply not ready mentally from a variety of angles.

OK. Lanning just lost his first game he should not have lost. He, the coaches, and the team will be better as they just passed a negative milestone, but an important mental one that will help them for years.

I was thinking about Rick Neuheisel's famous comment that most Duck fans are familiar with: "It's not the X's and the O's, but the Jimmies and the Joes that make the difference." Seeing how we had a clear talent advantage with our Jimmies and Joes last Saturday, perhaps "The Weasel's" comment needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

Nowhere was this more apparent than along the defensive front. I'm flabbergasted that the Cowboys were able to do what they did to the NFL-quality talent we have assembled on our defensive line. The upperclassman group you'd expect to create havoc was rendered absolutely ineffective. This is all the more befuddling when you compare last year's Oregon/OSU game to this year's (211 yards of total offense vs. almost 600).

Which leads me to question: Is it still the Jimmies and the Joes that make the difference, or has today's game morphed to where a schematic shift in philosophy can gain an advantage over even the most talent-loaded opponents? (Last year OSU ran a traditional spread offense; this year they installed a simpler Air Raid approach).

I'm no expert when it comes to X's and O's, but I'm guessing our coaches are probably installing some new schemes for our Jims & Joes this week!

100%, They thought they were playing the same team as last year. Surprise! This loss is 85% on the coaches. Maybe it helps them the rest of the season maybe were going to do a Penn State.

8 minutes ago, John Charles said:

I was thinking about Rick Neuheisel's famous comment that most Duck fans are familiar with: "It's not the X's and the O's, but the Jimmies and the Joes that make the difference." Seeing how we had a clear talent advantage with our Jimmies and Joes last Saturday, perhaps "The Weasel's" comment needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

The Jimmies and Joes were the only reason the game was close in the fourth quarter... or at any point in the game.

Jackson putting their QB out of bounds on a long QB run saved a touchdown and the defense held them to a field goal. Jackson's pick six actually put Oregon up 7-3. Uiagalelei's interception enabled the Ducks to get a quick touchdown for 14 points right there.

Stewart and Dak Moore both had long TD catches... there's 14 points there.

There's 28 points that came strictly off talent.

This isn't a talent problem ... its a teamwork and mentality problem.

"Dan Lanning Doesn't Lose to Unranked Opponents."

The team and the coaches were mentally weak going into this game, as the upset had just never happened to Oregon under Lanning. We will see a very different team and coaches the rest of the season!

That's what I have been saying, they are soft. If they beat PSU 100-0 won't change anyone's mind about that

55 minutes ago, Log Haulin said:

That's what I have been saying, they are soft. If they beat PSU 100-0 won't change anyone's mind about that

It's not about if they beat PSU by 100 points or whatever... it's about how they do it. Regardless they will not prove anything.

But it could be a sign of hope if they go out there and just play physical and disciplined that is a step in the right direction.

1 hour ago, Log Haulin said:

That's what I have been saying, they are soft. If they beat PSU 100-0 won't change anyone's mind about that

They were soft...in that game. I believe they will much stronger in the next two weeks, and progressively stronger as the season continues.

1 minute ago, Charles Fischer said:

They were soft...in that game. I believe they will much stronger in the next two weeks, and progressively stronger as the season continues.

I think that is accurate. I also think this was a wake up call. I expect them to come out angry and inspired the rest of the way.

Dan accepts the blame for the loss at OK State. Kudos to Dan.

https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/article/dan-lanning-accepts-blame-says-a-lack-of-leadership-led-to-oregons-shocking-loss-to-oklahoma-state-124328718.html

A historic win for OK State and a historic loss for OBD -

https://duckswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/ducks/football/2026/09/12/oregon-football-ducks-oklahoma-state-5-takeaways/91730812007/

Dan, the Schwartz is With You -

Oregon Ducks On SI

Former Oregon Duck Geoff Schwartz Sounds Off Against Dan...

The hours and days after a loss are typically tough for a college football teams' fanbase. For the No. 21 Oregon Ducks, their historically dismal 39-31 loss on

4 hours ago, Charles Fischer said:

The fans, the coaches, and the team knew that Lanning never loses to an unranked opponent. They knew we would easily take care of business, and they were mentally on cruise-control

The term I heard and saw written more often than any other to describe Oregon’s mental state was ‘sleepwalking’. It must have been in the air because I remember thinking the same thing.

I've had moments after many games that I questioned Dan's decisions, but never have I had the thoughts that I did after this game. Not just overly aggressive, but borderline idiotic IMO.

That said, Dan has built a lot of equity via many good wins and an obvious recruiting and cultural shift...

Point being that while this game definitely tarnished the halo a bit, Dan deserves the grace and benefit-of-the-doubt that he's earned. One game does not mean the sky is falling. Let's see what the season holds. Dan deserves that, at the very least.

And... with all of the returning player talent I think we glossed over the coordinator changes a bit. That's a huge deal. They need a learning curve too.

I'll be curious to see how we feel at season's end... Will we be in the dumps, or will we laugh at the knee-jerk reactions of present-day us ...?

I guess we'll see.

I think too much of the analysis of this loss has been to lay blame on OBD and how WE LOST a game that WE should've won. Of course that's what we do on an OBD fan forum. But I think the Cowboys deserve a ton of credit for playing hard and not letting up. THEY DID WIN against a top-10 team and their QB was IMO much more heisman-worthy than ours, for example...

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by DuckFan93