Mike Gundy emphasized a couple of eyebrow-raising narratives days before Oklahoma State’s blowout loss at Oregon, and the Ducks did not miss on their opportunity to rub them in his face after they aged poorly. Most notably, Gundy pointed out Oregon’s sizable roster budget prior to the 69-3 defeat, going on and on about the spending disparity between the Ducks and his program. The apparent dig gave Oregon plenty of ammunition after an utter dismantling of the Cowboys.
Following the most lopsided loss of the Gundy era, Oklahoma State listened as a fitting song played over the sound system at Autzen Stadium: AC/DC’s “Moneytalks.”
Oregon earned the right to showboat. It racked up more points than any opponent in Gundy’s Oklahoma State tenure behind a career day from quarterback Dante Moore, who completed 16 of his 21 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns.
“We spent around $7 million over the last three years, and I think Oregon spent close to $40 (million) last year alone,” Gundy said earlier in the week. “That was just one year. Now, I might be off a few million. What I’m saying is they’re spending a lot of money. There’s some schools that are doing that.
“What I hear, chatter from coaches around the country, is that non-conference scheduling — and I never thought anybody would ever say this — should be based on the financial situation for each school. Oregon is paying a lot, a lot of money for their team. So from a non-conference standpoint, there are coaches saying they should play teams that are spending the same amount of money.”
Moore confirmed after the game that Oregon players used Gundy’s comments as fuel. The Ducks’ first-year starter took it personally when the opposing coach indirectly called out Dan Lanning and megabooster Phil Knight.
“When you attack our head coach, it’s like attacking my dad, to be honest,” Moore said after the 66-point bludgeoning. “It’s like you’re attacking a family member. I feel like, as a whole team, it hit close to home. We knew that, every week, there’s always going to be some trash talk coming. But for him to attack Phil [Knight], and to attack Coach Lanning, attack our team, was kind of personal.
The Ducks also took note of Gundy’s pregame comments about the Autzen Stadium atmosphere and how it may affect freshman quarterback Zane Flores. Gundy said that his new starter would be “fine” in opposing stadiums and that playing on the road would not affect him “a whole lot.”
About six minutes before kickoff, the Autzen Stadium videoboard put on display that clip from Gundy’s media availability in an effort to rile up the crowd.
Flores, in fact, struggled mightily in one of the nation’s most daunting road environments. He went a measly 7-for-19 for 67 yards with two interceptions.
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