ARLINGTON, Texas — "The most important thing I need to ask you," Mario Cristobal said to his No. 11 Oregon football team after Saturday's 27-21 heartbreaker against No. 16 Auburn, "is, can't I count on you?"
The answer came quickly, and from every corner of the UO locker room inside AT&T Stadium: "Yessir."
Cristobal continued: "Because stuff like this either rips you apart, or it brings you together."
It was that kind of loss for the Ducks in their 2019 season opener. Oregon shot out of the gates, scoring on its opening possession, the seven-point lead bigger than any margin the Ducks enjoyed in their loss to the Tigers in the 2011 BCS Championship game.