What Kyle Whittingham said this week about Oregon sounded a lot like a mistake Mike Gundy already made, and the Ducks have seen how that story tends to end.
The buildup to Oregon’s game with Michigan had plenty of juice at the start of the season. It was supposed to be a meeting of College Football Playoff hopefuls, with Oregon coming off back-to-back trips to the playoff and Michigan’s hire of Whittingham creating real buzz.
That picture looks different now. Oregon is still trying to make a late run at the postseason, while Michigan sits at 5-4 and has taken some of the shine off the matchup.
Still, Whittingham’s comments have made sure attention is on the game. In that sense, he appears to be taking the same path Gundy took before Oregon’s meeting with Oklahoma State last season, when the Cowboys coach lit the fuse by talking about the Ducks’ NIL spending on his weekly radio show.
“I think Oregon spent close to $40 [million] last year alone, so, that was just one year. Now, I might be off a few million.”
Dan Lanning didn’t let that slide. Before the game, he made it clear he took offense to the remarks.
“If you want to be a top-10 team in college football, you better be invested in winning. We spend to win, some people save to have an excuse for why they don’t. I can’t speak on their situation; I have no idea what they got in their pockets over there.”
Oregon then backed up the response in a big way. The Ducks hammered Oklahoma State 69-3, and inside Autzen Stadium, the message was impossible to miss. AC/DC’s “Moneytalks” played over the speakers as the score got out of hand.
Whittingham now seems to be inviting the same kind of reaction. He framed Oregon’s success through the lens of money, saying:
“He really does a great job recruiting and It doesn’t hurt that you have $50+ million dollars at your disposal to, in essence outbid everybody. Not everybody, but a lot of people.
But that’s not his fault. That’s a credit.
I mean, that’s a credit to their program and their dedication and desire to win and the support they have. NIL is the name of the game in recruiting these days.
”
He can call it praise, but the point lands more like an excuse. The “outbid everybody” line especially cuts at what Lanning has built, reducing Oregon’s success to a checkbook instead of acknowledging the culture, development and results behind it.
And if Whittingham wants to talk about donor power and NIL, he’s not exactly standing on clean ground. Michigan has its own financial muscle, and the source material points to Larry Ellison and Jolin Ellison as the driving forces behind Bryce Underwood’s historic NIL deal that helped flip him from LSU.
So yes, NIL is part of the game now. Whittingham is right about that much. But he’s also leading a program with serious resources of its own, and that makes the public hand-wringing look even stranger.
Oregon has been singled out plenty because of Phil Knight and the other major donors around the program. But as the source material notes, building those relationships is part of coaching, and not every coach has done it as well. Talk is cheap, and Saturday gives the Ducks another chance to prove that investment has real bite.
In Other News...
Dan Lanning Just Got Fresh Bulletin-Board Material Before Oregons Biggest Test
With Oregon heading into one of its biggest tests, the chatter around Dan Lannings program has already spilled beyond the field. Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham used a radio appearance to talk about Oregons recruiting reach and the kind of NIL resources the Ducks can bring to bear, while also giving Lanning credit for the way he has built the roster.
It is familiar territory for Oregon, which has heard versions of this before from opposing coaches and has often turned those comments into fuel. Whether the Ducks need any extra motivation is one thing, but remarks like these tend to linger in the building, especially when a marquee matchup is right around the corner. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Just Lost Another Key Defender At The Worst Time
Oregons defense took another hit at a point in the season when every body matters. Linebacker Teitum Tuioti has been ruled out for the rest of the year after suffering a knee injury in a recent game, a blow head coach Dan Lanning confirmed after Tuioti was carted off the field. It is the kind of loss that changes how a defense is built on the fly, especially for a player who had become a steady presence in the middle of the unit.
Tuioti leaves behind a productive season that included 44 total tackles, 5.5 sacks and a forced fumble, production that helped give Oregon some edge and disruption from the linebacker spot. The Ducks now have to absorb the loss without one of their more reliable defenders, and the timing only adds to the challenge as they try to keep the defense intact down the stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Dakorien Moore Just Earned The Kind Of Praise Oregon Fans Notice
Dakorien Moore gave Oregon a moment worth replaying when he reached up for a one-handed touchdown catch against Ohio State at Ohio Stadium, a play that stood out even in a high-profile setting. It was the kind of grab that travels fast, and it quickly drew attention beyond the Ducks own sideline.
Dez Bryant, the Dallas Cowboys legend who had also been at Moores last high school game, praised the receiver publicly on social media after the performance. Moore acknowledged Bryants support and reflected on having him there in high school, a small but meaningful connection for a young player whose biggest moments are already starting to get noticed far beyond Eugene. [Read more 🡒]