Oregon’s trip to Stillwater exposed a team that looked nowhere near ready, and the harshest part of it is that the problem starts on the sideline.
The Ducks were beaten in every direction by Oklahoma State on Saturday. They were outgained, outworked and outplayed by a team that, at least on paper, was supposed to be well below them.
Whatever excuses might have been floating around after Week 1 - rust, limited reps, even the quality of the opponent - didn’t hold up here. Both teams dealt with the early start time, the weather delay and the heat.
What separated them was how prepared they looked.
After the 2025 season, Oregon lost both coordinators. Will Stein left to become head coach at Kentucky, and Tosh Lupoi took over at California.
That mattered. So did the decision to replace them from within, handing those jobs to coaches who had never held those roles at this level of college football before.
This is not the kind of roster you hand to beginners. Not with a Heisman Trophy-level quarterback - allegedly.
Not with that much talent at the skill positions - allegedly. Not with a defense loaded with first round draft choices - again, allegedly.
If the talent really is there, then Saturday pointed straight at the people charged with putting it to use.
Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker shredded the Ducks for 317 passing yards and more than 100 rushing yards, and the Cowboys piled up 554 total yards to Oregon’s 281. They ran for 237 yards as a team and, with a couple of batted passes bouncing another way, the margin could have been even uglier.
A three-score underdog turned the game completely upside down.
That wasn’t a quirky one-off. It was a full-scale beating.
Oregon looked predictable on offense, had trouble creating separation, and for the second week in a row couldn’t get much going on the ground. The penalty sheet only made the mess worse: offsides in key situations, a delay of game while trailing by five late, unsportsmanlike conduct, dropped passes, missed tackles and a fumbled pitch with the game hanging in the balance.
That’s not just sloppy football. That’s a team that looked undisciplined and unorganized.
Oklahoma State had lost 12 straight games before beating Oregon and had gone 21 straight against FBS opponents without a win. The Cowboys also became the first team with a losing streak of 10 or more games to knock off a top-10 opponent, and the broadcast called it one of the biggest upsets in college football history.
That may be too far, but the humiliation is real enough for Oregon.
The season is not over. The Ducks can still win the Big Ten, make the College Football Playoff and chase a national title.
But if that’s going to happen, they need to practice harder, play sharper and show the kind of focus they didn’t have in Stillwater. Right now, the missing ingredient looks like coaching.
Your move, Dan.
In Other News...
Georgia Tech Just Got Pulled Into A Brutal Week 2 Debate
Week 2 did more than reshuffle the college football conversation for a few teams, it created a list of people who suddenly look as if they are carrying some of the early season blame. Georgia Techs rough opening stretch, Rutgers slow start under Greg Schiano, John Mateers uneven showing for Oklahoma, Ohio States inability to close against Texas under Ryan Day and Oregons flawed performance under Dan Lanning all fed into a broader debate about who took the biggest hit when the games got real.
For Oregon, the frustration is less about one bad afternoon than the way the Ducks have already invited scrutiny around a roster that was supposed to set a tone early. Dan Lannings group came out of Week 2 with more questions than a team in its position wants, and in a season where September judgments can linger, that kind of performance travels fast. The bigger issue now is whether this was a one-off stumble or the first sign that the Ducks margin for error is thinner than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Kenyon Sadiq Just Sent Oregon Fans A Familiar Reminder
The early buzz around Kenyon Sadiq got a jolt right away Sunday, as the former Oregon tight end made his first NFL drive count in a way Ducks fans know well. Drafted by the New York Jets, Sadiq reached the end zone on a rushing touchdown against the Tennessee Titans and added a 7-yard catch, a quick reminder that his game has always carried more than the usual tight end profile.
What stood out most was how naturally he seemed to fit into the offense with Geno Smith, a promising sign for a rookie still carving out his role. Oregon supporters remember Sadiq as a highly ranked recruit who stacked up both receiving and rushing production in college, and his first professional snaps suggested the Jets may already have found a creative way to use him. [Read more 🡒]
Boise State May Have Exposed A Bigger Oregon Problem
Oregons first two games have already stirred up concerns that go beyond a single bad result, with the Ducks looking uneven on offense, shaky on defense and too often helping opponents with penalties. The loss to unranked Oklahoma State was the loudest warning sign, but the bigger issue may be how little rhythm Oregon has found early in games while adjusting to a staff shakeup that put Drew Mehringer and Chris Hampton in charge of the offense and defense after internal promotions.
Boise State may have only sharpened the questions around whether those changes are settling in quickly enough. Oregon lost both of its previous coordinators to head coaching jobs, and the Ducks are now trying to build continuity on the fly while fixing mistakes that have shown up in multiple phases. For a team with bigger goals, the concern is not just the record, but whether these early struggles are revealing something more stubborn underneath it. [Read more 🡒]