KSL UNRIVALED

Unrivaled: Mario Cristobal Got As Far Away As He Could After Losing Twice To Utah

Dec 10, 2021, 10:43 AM | Updated: 10:47 am

Mario Cristobal - Oregon Ducks vs. Washington State...

Head coach Mario Cristobal of the Oregon Ducks looks on from the sidelines during the first half of the game against the Washington State Cougars at Autzen Stadium on November 13, 2021 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)

(Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The coaching silly season is fully underway, and one school of interest to Utah and Pac-12 fans that needs a new head coach is the Oregon Ducks who lost Mario Cristobal to the Miami Hurricanes. Cristobal had success in the Pac-12 by going to a pair of New Year’s Six games and Pac-12 titles in five years.

This year, Cristobal had issues against Utah. Not just once but twice and not all that close as the Ducks fell in the regular season as the No. 3 team in the country by a score of 38-7 and in the Pac-12 title game, 38-10.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith had some funny backhanded compliments about how Cristobal could be successful at his new job down in South Beach.

WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS LANGUAGE NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL VIEWERS. WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK.

“I wish him nothing but the best, let’s just hope he don’t have to play Utah,” Smith said. “He got smacked around 38-10 in the Pac-12 championship game, and two weeks before that 38-7. What a way to go away out, stay away from Utah and you might succeed in life.”

That is clearly tongue-in-cheek but it is true that Kyle Whittingham and Utah easily dismantled Cristobal’s Oregon team each time they played this past year.

Unrivaled’s Scott Mitchell had his own thoughts on Cristobal and what he did at Oregon which was successful but still had some issues and specifically with former Duck quarterback Justin Herbert.

“I thought it was interesting that Mario Cristobal got as far away from the Pac-12 as you possibly could get. Right?” Mitchell said. “You can’t find a University in North America or in the continental United States farther south and East than Miami, right? I mean, there’s only Key West, and there’s no universities in Key West because I lived there. It’s like there’s Miami, that’s it. That’s the end of the road and I thought that was funny.”

Tune into Unrivaled every Monday through Friday, 3-7 p .m. on 1280 The Zone and 97.5 FM or subscribe to the podcast. Also, download the all-new KSL Sports app on iOS or Android.

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