Oregon Football’s first-year head coach Mario Cristobal will not be the new Miami head coach, now everyone is all-in on the matchup with Michigan State
Sunday afternoon, a college football bombshell was dropped, as Mark Richt declared his resignation from Miami after a remarkably frustrating 7-6 season which ended with a 35-3 drubbing at the hands of Wisconsin. Normally, this news would be inconsequential on an Oregon fan site; however, our very own Mario Cristobal was listed as a top candidate to take over the position. As of yesterday, though, Miami hired Manny Diaz, who left the Canes two weeks ago to pursue the Temple head coaching job. Crazy story.
Nonetheless, Mario is safe with us here in Eugene for the foreseeable future, and I’m excited. I must say, though, who really thought he’d bolt for Miami? The Oregon job is just better than “The U.” Pay is better–much and millions better. And facilities? Forget about it. Miami’s are notoriously cheap. The Ducks have the open checkbook of Phil Knight and the entire Nike legion behind them, so it really isn’t a contest. Recruiting, winning, and making money are all easier at Oregon. It was a no-brainer (to me) whether Cristobal should’ve considered a move to Miami.
Now, with that little scare from Sunday out of the way, let’s shift focus to Monday’s RedBox Bowl. My initial take on this Bowl matchup: RedBox still exists? I thought Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, and HBO were pallbearers at the RedBox funeral back in 2014? No? They still have enough funds to buy the naming rights to a halfway decent bowl game? Shocking. To the few and far between who still make regular trips to their local Redbox, I salute you. Seriously, I do. Oregon’s Bowl game would be the “Dean’s Whole Milk Bowl” without you.
Joking aside, I’m hyped for the finale of the 2018 Oregon Football season. It feels like the fan base was in a bit of a funk with football not achieving its usual heights and basketball floundering without Bol Bol. With the awesome signing day and Justin Herbert’s decision to return, momentum is surging heading into the New Year. Let’s keep it rolling and pound Michigan State!