Mario Cristobal Proud of Oregon's 'Prowess' in Rainy Weather

Oregon fans have easily the better of the two head coaches in the rivalry.

During the leadup to the annual rivalry game between the Ducks and Huskies, Washington head coach Jimmy Lake took a cheap shot at the "academic prowess" of Oregon's academics. 

The quote rapidly gained traction throughout social media with the consensus being it's embarrassing for the Huskies to have him speak for the University as a whole. 

When Ducks head coach Mario Cristobal was asked about Lake's remarks, he took the high road and said the local media would not be given "the juicy quote."

Days later, Cristobal's Ducks whooped Washington's butts in Seattle on a rainy, rainy day. Travis Dye ran for more yards (211) than Washington could muster as an offense in total (166). 

After the game, Cristobal commended the work of his team by perhaps talking a subtle shot at Lake in the process: "Proud of the way our guys came over and showed their prowess in the inclement weather." 

Regardless of Cristobal's tongue-in-cheek remark, he was right. The Ducks thrived in the rain and enforced their will on the Huskies, coming a yard short of doubling Washington's score in the final minute of the game. 

While this drive ended in a punt, Oregon's second-to-last possession was a 15-play, 43-yard drive that took more than six minutes off the clock. Had Alex Forsyth not been hit with an unnecessary roughness penalty, the Ducks likely score on first-and-goal from the two-yard line. 

As a team, the Ducks averaged 5.9 yards-per-carry against a talented Washington defense. 

Travis Dye, who ran for 211 yards himself on 28 carries, loved the offensive attack Saturday.

"When you know you can run the ball down the team's throat, it's the best feeling in the world," he said. 

Quarterback Anthony Brown added "it's always satisfying" when your offense can move the chains on the ground. 

"It shows how hard we working up front."

That work from the Oregon lines was evident for anyone watching on national television Saturday evening. 

To be honest, the reigning Pac-12 North champions looked like a lost puppy on Saturday. 

After the game, Jimmy Lake claimed during his postgame press conference he feels that the Huskies could have forced some more turnovers if it had gotten out to an early lead. Perhaps he's right, but his offense did not even have a first down until the second quarter. 

Maybe if Lake had adequately prepared his team for its largest game of the season, he wouldn't have had to address questions postgame of why he punted on fourth-down, down eight, with 1:59 left in the game. 

Considering the Washington faithful booed his decision loudly before the ball was snapped over the punter's head, even those with Washington's "academic prowess" knew it was bad. 

That's the difference between Mario Cristobal and Jimmy Lake. One makes headlines for program defining wins and taking care of business on the field while the other makes headlines for embarrassment after embarrassment, on and off the field.

Aren't Ducks fans glad to have Mario after getting a front row look at the Jimmy Lake experience this week.  

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