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Both hired in 2018, the two coaches have transformed their programs. After wins Saturday, the question is: Where is the rest of the conference?
EUGENE — Three and a half years ago, Mario Cristobal and Jonathan Smith were introduced to the Pac-12 Conference in Hollywood. It was Pac-12 media days in July of 2018, and the Oregon and Oregon State coaches were among a class of five new leaders in the conference.
Arizona State unveiled Herman Edwards, the popular former NFL head coach and ESPN commentator. Arizona imported Kevin Sumlin in from the SEC and UCLA made the splash of the offseason by bringing in Chip Kelly to Westwood.
Smith had no prior head coaching experience. Cristobal had a losing record during his tenure at Florida International. For a conference that indulges in style often without substance, the two new hires in the Northwest were firmly placed in the “wait and see” category.
Things haven’t always been perfect since. It’s been a slow burn for the Beavers rebuilding from the crater Gary Andersen left in Corvallis, and while Cristobal has led the Ducks to a pair of Pac-12 title wins, a Rose Bowl and currently has UO sitting third in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, his wins often come with plenty of hand wringing about style points.
But both coaches won on Saturday, Oregon 38-24 over Washington State to improve to 9-1, and Oregon State 35-14 over Stanford to reach bowl eligibility for the first time since the 2013 season. The Ducks are first in the Pac-12 North. The Beavers are tied for second.
It’s not hard to make an argument that these two relative unknowns back in 2018 have turned into two of the best hires the conference has had in the last decade.
Kelly’s 16-25 at UCLA. Edwards has Arizona State under investigation for alleged recruiting violations. Sumlin went 9-20 and was fired after a winless 2020 at Arizona and his replacement, Jedd Fisch, isn’t having much more luck. USC and Washington State both have interim coaches and Washington may soon follow. David Shaw and Stanford look felled. Justin Wilcox’s teams at Cal, when the Bears are allowed to play, have been average at best. Karl Dorrell at Colorado has six losses by more than 20 points just this year. And while Kyle Whittingham at Utah is a steadying presence in the South, even the Utes are uncharacteristically inconsistent here in 2021, out of the national conversation with three losses.
What’s striking about the success achieved here up in Oregon is how well the two coaches knew the environment they came into.
Take Smith. Here’s him in 2018:
“I want to see these guys competing and improving,” he said then. “I don’t want to shy away from anything week in and week out. At the end of the day, it’s about winning football games. I think it’s important to get the foundation right and being able to build things off of that.”
Smith took some lumps getting things settled. He took over a 1-11 team abandoned midseason in 2017 by its coach, that lacked the facilities and recruiting punch for a quick rebuild. OSU won two games in 2018, five in 2019 and two in the shortened 2020. The Beavers never trailed on Saturday and Smith was the recipient of an ice bath on the sideline.
“It hasn’t been an easy road. I’m glad I stuck it out,” said OSU senior linebacker Andrej Hughes-Murray to reporters. “This is something that’s long overdue, you know what I mean?”
An hour south, it was well into the night when Oregon clinched its victory. The Ducks shook a 14-all tie at the half, leaning heavily again on a running game that tallied 306 yards against the Cougars. Throw in some timely turnovers by the defense — Verone McKinley III intercepted his conference-leading fifth pass — and it was all too much for a much-beleaguered Washington State team to hang. The Ducks were bigger. They were faster. They were vastly more talented — exactly what Cristobal envisioned back in 2018.
“We attack this process,” Cristobal said then about recruiting. “When we see something that we feel needs to be at Oregon, we’re going to get after it and be aggressive.”
Kayvon Thibodeaux, the No. 2 recruit in the 2019 class, had two sacks Saturday. Byron Cardwell, the 11th-ranked player in Oregon’s own 2021 class, rushed for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Bryan Addison, a player so talented at 6-foot-4 and 183 pounds that the Ducks found a spot for him at safety after beginning his career as a receiver, had his first career interception.
The Ducks have been bruised and injured, but Cristobal’s tireless work on the recruiting trail has kept enough horses in the stable to keep this Playoff run going.
“We’re growing and we’re getting better,” Cristobal said. “The 1-0 mentality is sinking in.”
Of course, everything could blow up a week from now. The Ducks travel to face Utah, the conference’s lone team ranked besides the Ducks. And Oregon State closes its home slate against Arizona State, the No. 2 team in the South. The Conference should be praying that both teams make it through unscathed, setting up the first Oregon/Oregon State game featuring two teams with a winning record since 2013.
It’s funny looking back to that 2018 media day. Cristobal’s final question of that afternoon was about the conference, and whether or not coaching in the Pac-12 had disadvantages when compared to other conferences like the SEC or ACC.
“I think sometimes you might not get the exact same exposure, but we need to create our opportunities for exposure and take full advantage of them,” he said. “We need to be proud of our conference, the prominent coaching staffs that we have, the prominent team players that are up for so many postseason awards.
“We’re at a special place during a special time, I think everyone is enthused and will aggressively pursue these opportunities that we have.”
The coaches here in Oregon have. Now it’s time for the rest of the conference to catch up.
— Tyson Alger
