Autzen Stadium has become the place where coaching careers go to die.
There were other factors, including an 3-9 record last season and an 0-4 start in 2025, but Oklahoma State's 69-3 loss to No. 6 Oregon spelled doom for Mike Gundy, who was fired Tuesday morning in Stillwater.
He made matters infinitely worse with game week rants that amounted to "we can't compete." On Oklahoma State radio station he said, "I think Oregon spent close to $40 (million) last year alone. So, that was just one year. Now, I might be off a few million."
Gundy elaborated in his game week press conference. "Oregon is paying a lot, a lot of money for their team. From a nonconference standpoint, there's coaches saying they should [play teams with similar budgets]."
Reporters asked Dan Lanning about it and he fired back, "If you want to be a top-10 team in college football, you better be invested in winning. We spend to win."
The mild skirmish of words turned the game into a referendum on revenue sharing, budgets and the competitive landscape in college football. After an 0-9 record in conference play in 2024, Gundy brought in two new coordinators and 41 players in the transfer portal, but the Cowboys still looked ill-equipped for FBS football, just two years removed from a 10-4 season in 2023.
College football had changed that rapidly, and it had gotten away from OSU since the death of benefactor T. Boone Pickens. Some say Oregon will face a similar reckoning when Phil Knight passes, though Knight has reportedly take steps to leave a legacy for the program he built in Eugene.
In the end, all Gundy's comments did was draw attention to the way the changes in the game had passed him by. After losing starting quarterback Hauss Hejny in the opener his team looked overmatched and he looked weary on the sideline. The Ducks scored long touchdowns on two of their first three plays.
🦆TALKIN’ DUCKS RAPID REWIND 🦆
— Talkin' Ducks (@talkinducksshow) September 7, 2025
The Ducks destroyed Oklahoma State 69-3 on Saturday at Autzen Stadium. 🏈
QB Dante Moore went 16/21, for 266 yards and 3 TDs to lead the Ducks, who accumulated 631 yards of total offense.
RB Noah Whittington added 91 yards, including a 59-yard… pic.twitter.com/yKvWfIHDJ2
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Fans around college football liked Gundy as a character in the Big 12, colorful and outspoken. He's a former Cowboy great, the quarterback who used to hand off to Barry Sanders. One of the consequences of the portal is that it ratchets up fan expectations, fueling the idea that their program can just go out and get players and rebuild on the fly.
That's naive. It's a process. It takes management, evaluation, development and yes, money. Gundy, however likable, funny and candid, wasn't competing effectively any longer. The game in Autzen was his Waterloo, beaten tactically, strategically and by an enemy massed against him with better infrastructure and a more robust economy.