Mr. CFB No. 10: Oregon

When Mario Cristobal took over as Oregon’s head coach, there was no mystery about HOW he would build the program.

A former offensive line coach under Nick Saban at Alabama, Cristobal brought SEC toughness to the field and a relentless SEC attitude when it came to recruiting.

In his second season (2019) the Ducks were Pac-12 champions and Rose Bowl champions.

The 2020 season was bizarre with a lot of opt-outs due to COVID. Still the Ducks won the Pac-12 playing an abbreviated schedule. Then they got handled by Iowa State (34-17) in the Fiesta Bowl.

So where is Oregon in 2021?

The goals, said Cristobal, haven't changed. Since arriving in Eugene he's made no secret of the fact that his goal is to get the Ducks into the CFP.

But there is work to be done.

Joe Moorhead, the former head coach at Mississippi State, will work with a new quarterback in Boston College transfer Anthony Brown. Brown will work behind a line that returns four starters.

The Ducks also got a great break when running backs CJ Verdel and Travis Dye decided to return.

The defense has room to grow after finishing sixth in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (28.3 ppg) last season.

This unit will be led by Kayvon Thibodeaux, one of the more dominant edge rushers in the Pac-12 last season.

Two years ago Oregon had a very disruptive, opportunistic defense that was plus-eight in turnovers. Last season the Ducks struggled on that side of the ball finishing 11th in the conference at minus-9 in turnover margin.

Enter veteran defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter who plans to get the Ducks back to their aggressive ways.

Here’s the real problem for the Ducks as they seek to be a  part of the CFP conversation. If they lose at Ohio State on Sept. 11—and they likely will—Oregon’s margin for error is gone. The Ducks will have to run the table and win the Pac-12 championship game to finish 12-1. That probably won't be enough.

Conventional wisdom says that because of the Pac-12’s struggles in recent years, their champion will have to go 13-0 just to have a chance of getting into the CFP. We’ll see.

Note: The photo above is of Oregon Coach Mario Cristobal speaking at  Pac-12 Media Days. The photo is credited to Kelvin Kuo.