Dan Lanning Responds To Mike Gundy's Comments About Oregon Ducks NIL

The No. 7 Oregon Ducks kicked off the 2025 season with an impressive 59-13 victory over the Montana State Bobcats at Autzen Stadium.

Dan Lanning addressed the media ahead of the program’s week 2 matchup against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy made comments on Monday about Oregon's budget, Nike co-founder Phil Knight and disparities between the finances between his team and Lanning's team.

oregon ducks dan lanning beed mike gundy oklahoma state nil phil knight budget autzen stadium dante moore dakorien moor — Oregon coach Dan Lanning speaks during Oregon football’s Media Day on July 28, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“They spend a lot of money,” Gundy said on radio. “But they’re a good team. There’s no doubt about it. Our players, we talked about it today before practice, they’re excited about going out there and playing... I think Oregon spent close to $40 (million) last year alone. That was just one year. Now, I might be off a few million."

What Dan Lanning Said:

On Coach Mike Gundy’s Comments About Oregon’s Finances:

"I've got a ton of respect for coach Gundy. Ultimately, how blessed are we to be in a place that is invested in winning? If you want to be a top 10 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," Lanning said.

"Ultimately, he's a great coach and they've done an unbelievable job, but I want to be a team that is competing at the highest level, and we're really fortunate to be in that situation. I can't speak to their situation. I have no idea what they've got in their pockets over there. I'm sure UT-Martin maybe didn't have as much as them last week and they played. So, we'll let it play out," Lanning continued.

dan lanning oregon ducks freshmen oklahoma state cowboys montana state bobcats dakorien moore jordon davison dierre hill jr. — Aug 28, 2025; Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys coach Mike Gundy takes the field prior to the game against the Tennessee Martin Skyhawks at Boone Pickens Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

On Offensive Lineman Emmanuel Pregnon’s Status:

“I feel confident he's going to be able to go. He was able to move around a little bit today. So part of, part of this, where the game was at, and us also being able to evaluate, make sure he's in a great, great position, but I feel good that he'll be back.”

On Theran Johnson, Kawika Rogers And Dillin Gresham Injury Statuses:

“Dillon’s going to be down for a little bit precautionary, but he's not able to go right now. And Theran should be back this week. He was probably eight, and in position where he could have gone and pushed through, but we want to get more practice reps, and then Kawika, we're still figuring that out, where he's at. He's moving around the day, ankle deal, but I think he could be back on Saturday.”

How Wide Receiver Dakorien Moore Is Setting The Culture With His Pancake Block:

“Yes, that's part of the job, but it's awesome, because it's not natural, right? It's not natural. And he did it, but several guys did it in that game, and I'm really proud we talked about after the game, I'm really proud of the effort that our guys gave. Like you want to see people play 100 miles an hour,” Lanning said.

“And I thought we had a lot of guys playing 100 miles an hour on Saturday, but the way you block again tells me how much you love your teammates. And that guy was blocked really hard, right? And there were several guys that blocked really hard on Saturday.

“And then we found some moments where some of us were buying a ticket and watching other people make plays instead of blocking. And those are, those are the moments we got to continue to get better at and make sure that we're connected at the end of plays,” Lanning continued.

“But that was something probably early in the season last year, we didn't do as good of a job of, and that was a big emphasis coming into this game. And at times, we're going to the right people. At times, we weren't, but we were finding ways to be connected at the end of plays, which is huge,” Lanning concluded.

On Quarterback Dante Moore’s Growth Saturday:

“There were several plays, the big catch by Jay (Harris) there over the middle, that it was an opportunity for him to redirect the protection and slide it away from a load front, which is pretty unique. But he did a great job there and was able to hit an angle route there to Jay. But there were a lot of moments where the first read wasn't there, and you see him going through the progression and getting to his second read took care of the ball. There were very few balls in jeopardy to take place. I thought he made good decisions and looked really poised.”

What He Makes Of His Team Fighting Through Contact:

“We always celebrate that. I think coach (Will) Stein and the offensive staff doing a really good job of showing how many yards did we have after contact in the game. And when we threw that stat up to this morning, going over the players, it kind of threw me off, because it told me that we weren't blocking well enough up front for them to make those kinds of yards initially,” Lanning said.

“You'd like to think that you're blocking well enough that you can go five yards without getting touched, but we had a lot of guys breaking tackles and creating, not going down on first contact, which is huge. And I saw that from fresh freshmen all the way up to veterans that have been playing for us.”

On Cowboys Quarterback Zane Flores:

“That's college football. You got to prepare for what you see on film. The system is the system more than it is. They're going to completely change what they do as a player. They have compliments where the quarterback can run the ball or throw the ball, so they carry that in their system,” Lanning said.

“Might make them a little bit more reserved to run the quarterback, based on that situation, but ultimately, like you see, a player that can play and execute in an offensive scheme that's this tough to defend.”

How Much Jeremiah McClellan Makes An Impact On Special Teams:

“I mean one to start for us on over we expect you to be able to help us on special teams. But J-Mac has been very eager this year to help this team in any way that he can, and obviously, he made a huge impact in the game. I guess I think I've said it several times. He had a great fall camp. He's gotten better and better. We showed some clips of him running routes early in fall camp last year in comparison to this year. And it's just it's not the same player. This guy's really improved.”

What He Attributes The Offensive Line Start To:

“I think one it's attributed to the fact that we mix up our o-lines a lot in fall camp and make sure we have different parts, there are different pieces, because those moments can happen. So, we had guys that played right guard, guys that played left guard, guys that played tackle and guard,” Lanning said.

“I mean, there was a lot of combinations you saw up there. And then, obviously, when you have the game at hand, you want to get experience. But I think you saw that. You saw the variety that gets pitched to our players and really in practice, and then being able to go out and execute in games, that's great.”

On The Biggest Scouting Advantage From Week One To Week Two:

“It's just one game. That's the hard part, and especially when there's a lot of changes, ultimately, with the staff. So, you're looking at one game and realizing that they've got a lot more than that one game that you have to be able to adapt to, and the personnel you feel like you might know, but you really don't have a big enough picture yet to fully grasp who they are. But you do recognize that this team has an identity that we're about to play. And that's what shows up,” Lanning said.

“Defenses have always been really aggressive. Really good edge play that always shows up some coverage commonalities in the way he does things there and what we do, and on offense, Coach (Doug) Meacham and coach Gundy, they're going to take shots, they're going to spread you out, they're going to move with great tempo. So, we get one game to look at but I don't think it's really a full glimpse of who they are.”

How Important It Is To Bring Back Dave Iuli On The Offensive Line:

“I'm a big fan of Dave. I love Dave. He comes out to work every day. Always has a smile on his face. He's a pleasure. He's always asking, “What can I do to be better for the team?” And we have a lot of unselfish play right now on our team, which is so awesome to see with new faces,” Lanning said.

“Guys saying, hey, coach, can I go down to look team and give us a look? People that you never expect that from, and that's making us a lot better team, which is awesome, but Dave is versatile, and several of those guys on the offensive line.”

On The True Freshmen Defensive Backs And Ify Obidegwu:

“I've always said, if we have above the line play, we're going to try to make sure we give create roles and create opportunities, and you want that to happen, and you're concerned about, what's the anxiety going to be like in the first game? What's this? There's just new moments playing football in front of a filled stadium is a little bit different than playing in practice. And I thought those guys executed well.”

What Stands Out About Alex Harkey:

“I think you said it right. He plays o-line with a nastiness. He wants to finish blocks. He's a finisher. A guy that competes every single day, really, really pleased with Alex, and I still think, like, his best football is ahead of him. There's some there's some moments that I think he wants to be able to have back. But you see a guy that's trying to finish people, which is the mentality.”

On The Growth Of Running Back Jay Harris:

“What was fun is, obviously, we have a lot of talent back right now. And a lot of people want to ask questions about that, but like, what was great? What was great is, I don't know how many carries Jay and I know all seven of our backs had carries. Jay was an unbelievable teammate on the sideline. His enthusiasm, his energy, he's helping us on special teams,” Lanning said.

“He was in on the play where we blovked the punt. He played multiple special teams. He had the big, obviously, the big pass catch down the middle. Like, this guy's just focused and worked on getting better and better and better every single day. And his story is an unbelievable story. You guys don't even realize some of the stuff that this guy's gone through to get to where he's at right now. So really happy with Jay and the work that he's put in.”

How The First Win Builds Confidence:

“I think ultimately, when you go out there and you execute like that's going to build confidence in the plan. It's going to show you that the prep matters. We talked about double down before the season starts. Doubling down in the process, it paid off,” Lanning said.

“We're really focused this year on what can we control. Not really about the opponent, not about the out, the things that are out of our control. And I think our team's done a really good job of that. And they were as eager as anybody to say, okay, what can we improve on this morning, when we met with them.”

PREVIEW

Freshmen Starred Week 1

The Ducks’ freshmen stole the show in the team’s opening win of the season.

Running back Jordon Davison joined Royce Freeman as the only true freshmen to score three or more touchdowns in a game in program history. He also became the first Oregon freshman to score three rushing touchdowns in a season opener.

“I feel like seeing him since like spring ball is just the way he bumps off contact. I think it's really incredible for him to come in at the grade that he's in,” defensive lineman A’Mauri Washington said about Davison. “And I think it's going to be a lead if you just keep training, keep getting all get all the technique that he can. I feel like he gonna be elite.”

Davison’s fellow freshman running back, Dierre Hill Jr., recorded five carries for 48 yards in the opener. He was second on the team in rushing yards behind veteran back Noah Whittington.

Five-star wide receiver Dakorien Moore also impressed in his collegiate debut. Moore caught three passes for 26 yards and picked up two carries for 17 yards.

MORE: Grading Oregon Ducks For Blowout Win Over Montana State Bobcats

MORE: AP Top 25 Poll Shakeup: Texas, Alabama, Clemson Drop in Latest Prediction

MORE: Oregon Ducks React To Freshman Jordon Davison's Historic Performance

MORE: Texas Longhorns, Ohio State to Flip 5-Star Recruit from Oregon Ducks?

MORE: Updated Heisman Trophy Odds: Oregon Ducks' Dante Moore Still Behind Texas' Arch Manning

But the freshman phenom’s first game in an Oregon uniform went beyond the stats. He caught fans’ attention during a play where he hurdled over a Bobcats defender. Moore also showed how he can be a vital contributor to the program when he pancake blocked an opposing player in the end zone during a 14-yard touchdown pass.

“Not only is he electric with the ball in his hands, but he’s electric without the ball in his hands,” transfer wideout Malik Benson said. “Now, once people see that on film, they’ll know he’s not just a pass-catching receiver. He can do it all. That’s a young guy doing that. If everyone’s doing that, then we’re going to be a scary group to go against.”

A Look At The Cowboys

The Ducks now shift their attention to the Cowboys, who also opened their season with a victory. Oklahoma State went 3-9 in 2024, which was its worst record since Mike Gundy took over as coach 20 years ago.

The Cowboys started 2025 win a 27-7 win over UT Martin, but the program suffered a key injury starting quarterback Hauss Hejny that will require surgery.

Oklahoma State quarterback Zane Flores filled in and tallied 136 yards on 65 percent completion after coming in for Hejny in the season opener. The redshirt freshman will be tasked with taking on Oregon at Autzen Stadium in his first career start.

The Ducks have won 35 straight home nonconference games and will only look to extend that streak against the Cowboys. Oregon won 42-31 in the only other meeting between the two back in the 2008 Holiday Bowl.

This article will be updated live with Lanning’s press conference, which is expected to start at approximately 6:45 p.m. PST.