What's wrong with Oregon? Ducks' shocking loss to Oklahoma State raises questions about new coordinators

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What's wrong with Oregon? Ducks' shocking loss to Oklahoma State raises questions about new coordinators originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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It's too early to hit the panic button for any college football team. But of any FBS team, Oregon may have the most reasons to be worried.

After a Week 1 scare against Boise State, the Ducks fell to unranked Oklahoma State on Saturday, with Drew Mestemaker's three total touchdowns helping the Cowboys down the country's No. 6-ranked team in Stillwater.

There's a growing list of problems for Oregon, which now faces even more pressure for matchups like USC, Michigan and Ohio State later in 2026. 

Here's a breakdown of what's been going wrong for the Ducks through two games.

MORE: Why Oregon can still overcome slow start to make CFP

What's wrong with Oregon?

A combination of slow offensive starts and defensive struggles has plagued the Ducks in each of the first two weeks. In their season opener, they snuck by with a win. On Saturday, though, their comeback effort was too little, too late.

Oregon fell behind 17-7 to Boise State at one point in the first half of Week 1, allowing the Broncos to find the end zone twice and pad their lead with a field goal before Dante Moore threw a touchdown pass. Fortunately for Oregon, Moore looked more like himself in the second half last week, torching Boise State for a total of 378 yards and three touchdowns by the final buzzer.

In Week 2, though, Moore and the Ducks' offense couldn't overcome their lackluster first half. In the first two quarters, Oklahoma State held leads of 17-7 and 24-14, and once again, Moore failed to throw a touchdown pass in the first half. One of the Ducks' two first-half scores came on a pick-six.

By the time Moore was heating up against the Cowboys, throwing two touchdown passes in the second half, Mestemaker was already in a rhythm, and Oregon was playing keep-up against one of the country's most talented quarterbacks.

OKLAHOMA STATE UPSETS NO. 6 OREGON AS A 24.5-POINT UNDERDOG 🤯

It ends the longest losing streak vs. FBS teams in the country (21)! pic.twitter.com/WRXY4Um3HC

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 12, 2026

Moore only completed 48.3% of his passes against Oklahoma State — a glaring inefficiency against a team Oregon had the talent to beat.

Penalties have also been a massive problem for the Ducks, who committed 10 in Week 1 and seven in Week 2.

Oregon's defense, though, is clearly the bigger issue. Over two games against unranked opponents, the Ducks have allowed 34 points to Boise State and 39 to Oklahoma State. Maddux Madsen threw three touchdown passes against Oregon, while Mestemaker went for two in the air and one on the ground.

Oklahoma State becomes 4th team to score 39 points vs. Dan Lanning at Oregon.

The other 3 won the national title:

Indiana 56-22 (2025)
Georgia 49-3 (2022)
Ohio St 41-21 (2024)

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 12, 2026

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Who are Oregon's new coordinators?

The Ducks may still be in a transitional period, as they brought in two new coordinators under Dan Lanning this offseason. 

Drew Mehringer, OC

Lanning's new offensive coordinator is Drew Mehringer, who was previously the team's co-offensive coordinator and tight end's coach from 2022-25.

Mehringer, 38, played quarterback for Rice in his own collegiate career before holding assistant positions at schools like Houston, Rutgers, Texas, Florida Atlantic and New Mexico over the decdaes to follow.

His first full-time offensive coordinator role was at Rutgers in 2016, and while he's held various co-OC roles, the Ducks promoted him to take the reigns of the offense this offseason.

Chris Hampton, DC

Oregon's new defensive coordinator is Chris Hampton, who was also promoted from being co-defensive coordinator.

He first joined the Ducks in 2023 as Lanning's co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, coming off a second stint at Tulane as the team's defensive coordinator.

Hampton played safety at South Carolina and has also been in assistant roles at Duke, McNeese State and Georgia Tech.

MORE:Meet new Oklahoma State QB Drew Mestemaker, who led upset of Oregon

Where did Oregon's old coordinators go?

Both of Oregon's 2025 coordinators took head coaching jobs this past offseason cycle.

Tosh Lupoi, the Ducks' defensive coordinator from 2022-25, was hired by California, returning to his alma mater.

Oregon's previous offensive coordinator was Will Stein, who was in that role from 2023-25. However, Stein was hired as the head coach of Kentucky in the 2026 cycle, his first head coaching job.

Alarming Oregon stats through first two games 

Here's a look at some of Oregon's alarming numbers.

10 first quarter points

Part of both Oregon losses was its slow start — the Ducks went scoreless against Boise State in their opening quarter, then settled for one touchdown while losing to Oklahoma State on Saturday.

17 penalties

The Ducks have been consistently hurting themselves with penalties, totaling 17 over just two games. 

414 average yards allowed

Oregon's defense has struggled against both opponents. Boise State went for 274 total yards against the Ducks, while Oklahoma State couldn't be stopped, totaling 554 yards of offense.

0-6 on 4th down

Lanning has shown a willingness to go for fourth downs early in the season, and it hasn't paid off once yet.

Between Oregon's first two games, they haven't converted any of their six fourth-down attempts.

Oregon remaining schedule 

Here's a look at Oregon's remaining games:

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