EUGENE -- Until January, Mario Cristobal had never worked west of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, during his 19-year career coaching college football.
So it was from afar that he watched the Oregon Ducks transform from a program contending for conference titles to one that has played for two national championships since 2010.
"Fast, fast, fast," Cristobal said of his past impressions of Oregon. "A little bit frightening, a little bit scary when Oregon is on."
Last season, the Ducks were neither frightening, scary or on, during a 4-8 season that led to a program overhaul overseen by new coach Willie Taggart.