Pregame talk paves the way for Oregon’s upset of Oklahoma State – BOFA Sports

The results on the field show the ever-changing landscape of college sports.

There are times when people say “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” This may sound contradictory, but there are some items that have remained consistent through all the additions and subtractions. In other cases, if someone is not willing to evolve with the times, he will be left behind, and ultimately become obsolete. As with many things in life, college sports (especially football) is an example, and there is a game that directly illustrates a case where one team is moving with the times, while the other team is stuck in the 2010s. The contest (if anyone wants to call it that) in the spotlight was between Oklahoma State and Oregon, played last Saturday afternoon in the Pacific Northwest.

The Ducks crushed the Cowboys 69-3, and even with that score, the game probably wouldn’t have been that close. Not many were surprised by this result, as Oregon is a national title contender ranked fourth in the nation, while Oklahoma State is going through uncertain times. What sparked more conversation than the actual game were pregame comments made by Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy, in regards to how much money Oregon spent to build their roster. Gundy said his program’s expenses were “about $7 million over the last three years,” and Oregon’s expenses were “nearly $40 (million) in the last year alone.” Apparently, the Ducks took the comments as an attack on their coach, Dan Lanning, and they were ready to deliver a major blow.

After a little analysis, it’s reasonable to believe that Gundy’s comments added to the Ducks’ morale, but listening to what he had to say suggests something much bigger than just this game. As previously mentioned, college sports evolve every day, and items that continue to undergo change are name, image and likeness (NIL), and the transfer portal. After the NIL began in the summer of 2021, the college sports landscape underwent (and is still experiencing) major changes. Now, players are allowed to earn revenue through third parties, and evolution has reached the point where athletes can negotiate NIL deals with the universities themselves (House settlement). Combine this with the transfer portal, where players can essentially enter the glorified free agent pool, and a head coach’s influence over a program isn’t as great as it once was. In other words, the days of amateurism can be said to be a distant memory.

This brings us back to Gundy and his Oklahoma State program. While there is still a lot to be said about recruiting high school athletes, the NIL and the transfer portal are here to stay, and if a coach can’t improve over time (like anything else in life), he will become irrelevant. Money has to be spent if schools want to remain competitive, and this is something Lanning and Oregon clearly understand. Even with the money involved, it is the coach’s responsibility to prepare the team to play week in and week out, and there have been performances in recent years that make one wonder if Gundy has lost touch with today’s athletes. Of course, the Ducks had the better team, but the Cowboys came in uninspired and lethargic, basically getting beat before the game even started. When Gundy made those comments (and tried to clarify them after the fact), they sounded more like built-in excuses for another blowout.

From the outside, it seemed like the time for Gundy to step down from his position was too late. Stubbornness in sticking with tools that worked in 2015 means that they won’t work in 2025 and beyond. Head coaches no longer have carte blanche, and there is a need to understand that players have the potential to make as much money as they do. It’s not a coincidence that Nick Saban, who apparently doesn’t want to deal with the dynamics of change, decided to retire from Alabama after the 2023 season. For Gundy, there are two options to choose from. Either step aside for someone with a fresher mind, or go with the evolution. If the answer is the former, housing like the one Oklahoma State received from Oregon will become commonplace, and the choice for Gundy to stay will be made for him.