Coming into the season, the Oregon Ducks matchup against Michigan was expected to be a showdown between two College Football Playoff contenders. The Ducks have reached back-to-back College Football Playoff's and the Wolverines hiring Kyle Whittingham drove a ton of excitement for the season. While the Ducks are still hoping to make a late push for the postseason, Michigan is just 5-4 on the season, taking some of the buzz out of this matchup.
If Kyle Whittingham's goal this week was to put a bigger target on his team's back, and drawing attention to the matchup, he's certainly doing so. Whittingham appears to be approaching this game the same way Mike Gundy approached the 2025 showdown with the Ducks, and hopefully for Oregon, the same result comes from it.
Kyle Whittingham is following Mike Gundy's grave mistake of speaking out of turn
Ahead of last season's matchup with Oklahoma State, Mike Gundy poured gasoline on the matchup by speaking about Oregon's NIL spending. On his weekly radio show prior to the 2025 meeting between Oklahoma State and the Ducks, Mike Gundy pointed to how much Oregon spent on their roster.
"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."Mike Gundy
Dan Lanning clearly took offense to the comments before the game, and the fact that Mike Gundy was talking about it.
"If you want to be a top-10 team 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. I can't speak on their situation; I have no idea what they got in their pockets over there."Dan Lanning
When the game started, Oregon almost seemed to want to show Mike Gundy just how good of players money can buy. The Ducks ran up the score on the Cowboys, beating Oklahoma State 69-3, and inside Autzen Stadium, Oregon had fun with the comments blaring AC/DC's Moneytalks over the speakers.
Playing over the Autzen Stadium sound system: Moneytalks by AC/DC.
— Tyson Alger (@tysonalger) September 6, 2025
Based on how that game went, and the way that Dan Lanning took offense for the comments, you'd think that no one would make that mistake again. Except, Kyle Whittingham continues to make the dumbest comments possible, pointing out how Dan Lanning has built Oregon up thanks to NIL spending.
"He really does a great job recruiting and It doesn't hurt that you have $50+ million dollars at your disposal to, in essence outbid everybody. Not everybody, but a lot of people. But that's not his fault. That's a credit. I mean, that's a credit to their program and their dedication and desire to win and the support they have. NIL is the name of the game in recruiting these days. "Kyle Whittingham
Kyle Whittingham can claim he's giving the program credit, but it's clear he's making excuses ahead of the game while simultaneously discrediting what Dan Lanning has built at Oregon. Using the phrase "outbid everybody" is particularly insulting, as it paints a picture of a program that can only land top recruits by offering more money than everyone else, rather than recognizing the culture, development and success Lanning has established.
It seems as if Whittingham forgets which program he's leading, and how Michigan built their own program. Larry Ellison the 8th richest man in the world and Jolin Ellison were the driving forces behind Bryce Underwood's historic NIL deal that got him to flip his commitment from LSU.
The story of how I met the Ellisons, Bryce Underwood flipped to Michigan, and the future of Michigan NIL changed forever pic.twitter.com/g7chi35bs9
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) November 26, 2024
Is NIL the name of the game, as Whittingham suggested in his comments? It's certainly a major part of college football today. However, Whittingham can't pretend he's not leading a program at a school with a massive donor base and the resources to provide the same kind of financial support Dan Lanning has built at Oregon. Perhaps if Whittingham were winning games or could remember who Michigan's rivals actually are, fans and boosters would be more willing to open their checkbooks rather than calling for his job.
Fire Kyle Whittingham. Fire Jason Beck. This is the lowest most embarrassing Michigan Football has been in my lifetime. What an absolute joke of a football team #Goblue pic.twitter.com/3GffHFVfA2
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) November 8, 2026
Every program has the opportunity to invest in players and coaches, and Michigan has done so quite publicly. Oregon is often singled out because of Phil Knight and the other major donors supporting the program, but the reality is that building those relationships is part of a coach's job. Not every coach has cultivated the same level of support, and that's not Oregon's fault. Talk is cheap, and on Saturday afternoon, the Ducks will have an opportunity to show Whittingham, just as they did Gundy, exactly how well that investment has paid off. Whittingham is already hanging on by a thread at Michigan, and this week's game could get him fired.
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