Why Oregon-Washington State 2022 Meeting Could be Instructive for Oklahoma State

The Oklahoma State Cowboys need to score points, and they need to keep up with Oregon. Five years ago, Eric Morris did that at Washington State.

Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Eric Morris. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris and Oregon head coach Dan Lanning have only met once as coaches. And it was a show.

Back in 2022, Lanning — in his first year as head coach at Oregon — faced the Washington State Cougars, where Morris was the offensive coordinator, having taken the job after five years leading the program at Incarnate Word. It was the Pac-12 opener for both teams. The Ducks and the Cougars lit it up, with Oregon winning, 44-41.

It’s one reason each coach was asked about the other during their weekly press conferences. While Saturday’s game in Stillwater (11 a.m. CT, ESPN) will be their first meeting as head coaches, it won’t be their first experience strategizing against one another. Lanning has a defensive background. Morris has an offensive background.

Is what happened five years ago informative? Let’s dive in.

Dan Lanning vs. Eric Morris in 2022

Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It wasn’t just their first meeting as head coach (Lanning) and coordinator (Morris). It was Lanning’s Pac-12 debut. Morris had coached in the conference before as a wide receivers coach with Washington State about a decade earlier. So he knew the lay of the land.

Morris also joined Washington State and his Incarnate Word quarterback followed — Cam Ward. The lightly recruited Houston-area product eventually transferred to Miami and became the Tennessee Titans’ first-round pick in 2025.

Lanning sees plenty of threads from that day in Pullman, Wash., in what Morris has done since — three years as the head coach at North Texas and one game as OSU’s head coach.

"I think we were down 12 points in that game, and Cam Ward was playing for him at that point,” Lanning said. “But he does a lot of stuff that's disruptive on offense. That's tough. He can create explosive plays. They thrive off them. They throw the ball extremely well.”

Ward had a huge day. He threw for 375 yards and two touchdowns, along with two interceptions. Oregon quarterback Bo Nix countered that with 428 yards passing with three touchdowns. Washington State was up by 12 points at a couple of different points in the game, including a 34-22 lead with 6:42 left in the fourth quarter.

That Washington State unit proved that points could be scored on the Ducks, especially if the quarterback is on point that day.

What Morris remembers is Oregon scoring 21 unanswered points to take a 10-point lead, including a Mase Funa interception of a Ward pass that he returned for a touchdown. It turned out to be the difference in the game.

Morris knows what Oregon brings to the table defensively. As respected as Morris is for offense, Lanning is the same for defense, having cut his teeth as Kirby Smart’s defensive coordinator at Georgia. Lanning is 49-8 in his fifth year at Oregon and has never won fewer than 10 games. It’s a standard that Morris wants for Oklahoma State one day.

“They’ve done a phenomenal job of building that thing,” he said. “I think this is year five for Dan, and they’ve done a phenomenal job of putting pieces around him.”