Dan Lanning’s comments after Oregon’s loss to Oklahoma State are self-aware at least

Generally speaking, I don't think it's a good thing for a team with national title aspirations to lose to a team that just lost to Tulsa. And I don't mean that as a shot at Tulsa; what the Golden Hurricane have pulled off so far this season is great for them. I just mean that the Oregon Ducks absolutely shouldn't be going on the road and losing to an Oklahoma State team that is clearly still trying to figure itself out.

Oregon may have only lost by eight points, but this is a contest that the Ducks should feel absolutely horrible about — because it could've been much, much worse. Had the Cowboys played a clean game, this would have been an incredibly lopsided affair. Quite frankly, Oregon should be grateful that Oklahoma State threw two interceptions (one of which resulted in a pick-six) and kicked four field goals.

On the heels of a similarly shaky showing at home against Boise State in Week 1, what began as a make-or-break season in Eugene is rapidly careening off the rails. If you're looking for some solace the day after, head coach Dan Lanning is at least aware of how bad this game was — and the work required to salvage things.

Dan Lanning knows how ugly Oregon's loss to Oklahoma State actually was

When given the chance to address the Ducks' 39-31 defeat in Stillwater, Lanning explained (in very frank terms) just how bad this game was, while also making sure to give kudos to Eric Morris and the Oklahoma State coaching staff.

"It really was, because it wasn't close in a lot of ways," Lanning admitted in his postgame press conference. "We got our ass kicked in a lot of areas. Tons of credit to coach Morris and his staff."

And that's accurate.

Looking through the postgame stats, there are quite a few areas that demonstrate just how poorly Oregon played in this game. Oklahoma State out-gained the Ducks to the tune of 554 to 281. The Pokes had the ball for nearly 14 minutes more than Oregon did. The Ducks averaged 4.8 yards per play while Oklahoma State put up 6.7. Heck, Morris' team even had just two penalties for 30 yards while Oregon had seven for 66.

Execution issues were a pretty big thorn in the side of Lanning's team. The offensive line also remains a concern after a second straight week in which they failed to adequately protect Dante Moore (four sacks allowed on Saturday). Both trenches got thoroughly outplayed, as the same things that undid Oregon in last year's College Football Playoff (and the one before that) reared their ugly heads.

It was OSU's Drew Mestemaker who looked like a Heisman contender in this game, not Moore. He had a total of 426 total yards of offense (317 passing and 109 rushing) with three combined touchdowns (two passing and one rushing) to go with his two interceptions that kept Oregon in the game early. As for Moore? He completed 14-of-29 passes for just 191 yards while also throwing two touchdowns.

Lanning is absolutely right: There are so many areas in this game in which Oklahoma State was simply the better team. The Cowboys were still a little sloppy (and the Ducks certainly took advantage of every mistake that Oklahoma State made), but that wasn't enough to give Oregon a win. Whether they can figure out what went wrong and correct it will determine where this season goes from here.

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