It’s just Ducky on Cristobal’s watch
EUGENE, Ore. — Mario Cristobal knew he could talk about all the ways he wanted to remodel Oregon and get the Ducks back into being an elite program.
At some point there needed to be validation. There needed to be the tangible proof what Oregon’s first-year coach was trying to sell was working.
“All the credit, every single ounce of it to the players in that locker room for just buying into a process that back in January it’s very different when you go to a blueprint like we did and it’s very hard and it’s very demanding,” Cristobal said. “But I think when you have moments like this it validates all that stuff and more so.”
Oregon’s validation came Saturday when it outlasted rival Washington for a 30-27 overtime victory that ended two years of misery against the Ducks’ neighbors to the north. C.J. Verdell’s 6-yard run for the winning TD set off the kind of celebration that was absent from Autzen Stadium in recent years when the Ducks swooned to being just another team in in the Pac-12 North, rather than a perennial championship favorite.
The victory vaulted the Ducks (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12) five spots to No. 12 in the Associated Press Top 25 yesterday. It’s the highest ranking for Oregon since finishing the 2014 season at No. 2 following its title game loss to Ohio State.
“I’ve been here for a lot of games and I think that’s probably one of the best experiences I’ve ever been a part of,” Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert said. “For us to fight back like that and just not lose focus was unreal. It was great to celebrate with these guys.”
After four of the top eight teams lost, the AP poll had a new look behind No. 1 Alabama, with Ohio State reaching No. 2, LSU jumping back to No. 5 and Michigan moving into the top 10 for the first time this season.
The Crimson Tide received all but one of the 61 first-place votes from the media panel, with Ohio State receiving the other. No. 3 Clemson and No. 4 Notre Dame also moved up a spot. LSU jumped eight after handing Georgia its first loss of the season. The Bulldogs slipped from No.2 to No. 8.
No. 6 Michigan has its best ranking of the season after blowing out Wisconsin, and Texas is up two spots to No. 7. No. 9 Oklahoma moved back into the top 10 while idle and Central Florida remained No. 10.
As for Oregon, the Ducks thought they were going to have this moment a few weeks ago when they were on the cusp of knocking off Stanford before a secondhalf collapse led to a 38-31 overtime loss.
It was the kind of loss that could have derailed what Cristobal is trying to develop and have a lingering effect.
Instead, the Ducks appear to have learned from the miscues of that night against the Cardinal. Yes, they were fortunate to get to overtime after Washington got questionably conservative in the final minute and kicker Peyton Henry was wide right with a 37-yard attempt on the final play of regulation.
But when it got to overtime and Washington was held to a field goal on its possession, the Ducks weren’t about to let the game continue. Cristobal said that even if Verdell had been stopped on the third-and-goal run, the Ducks likely would have gone for it on fourth down.
It’s an attitude Cristobal wants the Ducks to have and differs from Oregon teams of the past, especially recent seasons.