Ducks Gameday Lookout: Oregon’s season heats up at Oklahoma State

A week after a 34-27 win over Boise State, the temperature is turning up on the Oregon Ducks.

Figuratively — should the Ducks have handled a Pac-12 team by more? — and quite literally.

Hello, Oklahoma State, where the on-turf temperature at H.A. Chapman Stadium was a crisp 161 degrees for the Cowboys’ season opener against Tulsa last week.

At least it’s a wet heat, though, right?

Forgive the author here. I hail from Alaska and have quite the opposite comfort level with Southern heat compared to many of the Ducks, like Texas native Dakorien Moore.

He was born in the heat, raised by it. But Moore also said that doesn’t mean heading into near-triple-digit temperatures with false bravado is the smart thing to do.

“Hydration,” Moore said, is the key. “Just making sure we put the necessary fluids in our body to make sure that the heat can’t drain us more than it would anybody else, because the South, the weather is different from the West Coast… But yeah, I’m kind of used to the weather so I kind of know how to handle it. The summer workouts in high school was way worse than what we’re going to be facing.”

Plus, the Ducks missed the really hot stuff.

Temperatures are expected to be in the 80s around kickoff, with humidity and a chance of thunderstorms before things heat up further Saturday afternoon.

“Good,” Lanning said of the heat. “Drink a little more water.”

Did the Ducks take their medicine, as Lanning likes to say, too, after slipping by Boise State in Week 1?

We’ll find out.

Here’s what you need to know before kickoff.

How to watch or listen

When: Sept. 12 at 9 a.m. PT
Where: Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, Oklahoma
TV channel: ESPN/Disney+
Radio: KUJZ 95.3 in Eugene and 105.1 The Fan in Portland

Who’s playing?

Opponent: Oklahoma State (0-1; 1-11 in 2025)

Depth charts/rosters: Oregon roster; Oklahoma State roster.

Oklahoma State player to watch: Quarterback Drew Mestemaker

On one hand, a roster featuring 66 new transfers doesn’t exactly instill fear into the heart of the opposition.

On the other, it’s not exactly the worst thing in the world when those transfers are coming into a program that won just one game in 2025 and lost 69-3 against the Ducks in Eugene.

The newness extends to the quarterback position, where the Cowboys feature North Texas transfer Drew Mestemaker.

He led the nation in passing in 2025 (4,379 yards) and steered the Mean Green to a 12-win season, finishing the year with 34 touchdowns to nine interceptions before following head coach Eric Morris to Stillwater.

He wasn’t great in OSU’s 24-10 Week 1 loss to Tulsa, but he does have talent in an Air Raid system that’s far different from what the Ducks faced last week against Boise State.

“He’s a guy that can stand flat-footed and you know throw a 60-yard bomb,” Lanning said. “So, he’s got a really strong arm. They have a really strong passing attack. There’s a reason they’re the number one scoring offense in the nation last year in North Texas. But that shows up, and he’s obviously a guy that makes that tick for them.”

Oregon player to watch: Receiver Iverson Hooks

Fellow receiver Evan Stewart warrants an inclusion here, because his ability to shake off last week’s shaky afternoon on punt return should be a focus of this game.

But this might also be the week where we finally see one of Oregon’s new additions to the wide receiver room. UAB transfer Iverson Hooks missed Week 1 with a hamstring injury, but Lanning said the fifth-year speedster is trending toward playing on Saturday, giving us a first look at a player named after NBA Hall of Famer Allen Iverson.

If Stewart can’t figure things out on special teams, Hooks could be a presence there if healthy.

“I would say he’s way better than before he got here,” Dakorien Moore said of Hooks. “Of course, just his knowledge of the game, his speed, his player recognition, just everything I feel like after he got here has advanced. Of course, he was a tremendous player at UAB. So if you watch his highlights from there, you’ll get a little glimpse of what he’ll bring here. But, yeah, I can’t really spoil too much. I just say, stay tuned for Iverson Hooks on the field.”

Reads to get ready for the game

In case you missed any of this week’s coverage:

• The Duck Report: Circling Oklahoma
• Punt-return mistakes mar Evan Stewart’s long-fought return from injury — but his coach believes
• The Sunday Duck Report: A messy and revealing first sample
• Schnell: Ducks hold 34-27 in surprising thriller over Boise State

Learn more about Oklahoma State

• The Oklahoman’s Joe Mussatto looks at how Drew Mestemaker responds after a rough Oklahoma State debut.

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Live updates:

Join us here at LookoutEugene-Springfield.com during the game for updates live from Stillwater.