The Oregon Ducks entered Saturday expecting to extend a pair of the longest winning streaks in college football.
Instead, No. 6 Oregon found itself onthe wrong side of FBS history against Oklahoma State. The Ducks fell 39-31 to OSU, and made a terrible kind of history in the process.
With Oklahoma State leading Oregon 39-31 late in the fourth quarter on Sept. 12, ESPN displayed a striking statistic: No FBS team had ever snapped a losing streak of 10 or more games with a victory over an AP top-10 opponent.
Oklahoma State entered the game having lost 12 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the FBS and the longest losing streak in Cowboys program history. Oklahoma State’s own pregame notes listed ending the 12-game skid among the milestones available with a victory over Oregon.
And this was anything but a fortunate upset bid.
With less than a minute remaining, Oklahoma State had amassed 559 total yards compared with just 281 for Oregon. Cowboys quarterback Drew Mestemaker had thrown for 317 yards and two touchdowns while adding 109 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
An Oregon turnover may have provided the defining moment. With the Ducks trailing by eight at the two-minute warning, running back Dierre Hill Jr. lost a fumble at the Oregon 40-yard line, allowing Oklahoma State to begin running out the clock.
Oregon Entered With Historic Streaks of Its Own
The contrast entering Saturday could hardly have been more dramatic.
Oklahoma State had not won a game since 2024. Oregon, meanwhile, arrived in Stillwater with a 12-game road winning streak, the longest active run in the country. The Ducks were 18-2 on the road under Dan Lanning entering Saturday.
Oregon had also won 41 consecutive games against unranked opponents and was 34-0 against unranked teams under Lanning.
Both streaks were in jeopardy against a Cowboys team that opened the Eric Morris era with a 24-10 loss to Tulsa, extending what was already the longest losing streak in Oklahoma State history.
The historical contrast made the potential upset especially jarring.
Oregon dropped from No. 2 to No. 6 in the AP poll after surviving Boise State 34-27 in its season opener. Still, the Ducks arrived as a College Football Playoff contender against a program trying simply to win a game for the first time in nearly a year.
College Football World Reacts to Dan Lanning’s Historic Loss
The reaction to Oregon’s stunning performance against Oklahoma State quickly turned toward Dan Lanning, whose Ducks entered the afternoon as heavy favorites against a Cowboys team riding a 12-game losing streak.
On3’s Brett McMurphy pointed out just how unusual the defensive collapse was. Oklahoma State became only the fourth team to score at least 39 points against a Lanning-coached Oregon team. The previous three — Indiana in 2025, Georgia in 2022 and Ohio State in 2024 — all went on to win the national championship, McMurphy noted in a post on X.
The other 3 won the national title:
Indiana 56-22 (2025) Georgia 49-3 (2022) Ohio St 41-21 (2024)
That comparison underscored how far outside Oregon’s normal standard Saturday’s performance was. Oklahoma State entered the game as a 23.5-point underdog and was coming off a loss to Tulsa, while Oregon had won last year’s meeting 69-3.
The criticism became even sharper after one of Lanning’s biggest fourth-quarter decisions. With Oregon trailing by five and facing fourth-and-8 from its own 33-yard line with roughly seven minutes remaining, Lanning elected to keep the offense on the field. The Ducks failed to convert, giving Oklahoma State excellent field position.
That decision immediately drew attention online. One highly viewed Reddit thread centered specifically on the failed fourth-down gamble, with commenters questioning both the call and Oregon’s overall preparation.
This loss starts with him. Very questionable decisions. Team simply wasn’t prepared. Worst loss of his career, hands down.
Will be interesting how they respond in 2 weeks vs. USC.
The reaction on X was similarly unforgiving. Several posts in the immediate aftermath criticized Oregon’s game management, preparation and Lanning’s decision-making, while others mocked the Ducks for falling to an opponent that had not won since 2024.
The frustration was amplified by Oregon’s uneven start to the season. The Ducks had already needed a fourth-quarter comeback to escape Boise State in their opener, and Lanning acknowledged afterward that Oregon had “came out slow” and needed to clean up self-inflicted mistakes.
Against Oklahoma State, those concerns did not disappear. They became the central storyline.
And unlike some social-media pile-ons, the criticism was tied to something tangible: Oregon was badly outgained, surrendered 39 points to a team carrying the longest active losing streak in the FBS and put itself in position to absorb one of the most improbable losses of Lanning’s tenure.
Oregon Ducks Make Unwanted FBS History in Loss to Oklahoma State