Mario Cristobal's Decision-Making Held Back Justin Herbert and Cost Oregon in a Big Way

Future first-round pick Justin Herbert is getting some flak today after his Oregon Ducks fell to a true freshman quarterback in Auburn's Bo Nix on Friday night, but everyone sharpening their pitch forks to go after Herbert has the wrong guy in mind.

Herbert went 28-37 for 242 yards and a touchdown against an Auburn defensive line that features three future high draft picks in Derrick Brown, Nick Coe and Marlon Davidson.

The blame lies not with him, but Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal.

Cristobal, who was 27-47 at his only prior head coaching stop at FIU and is now 9-6 at Oregon, joined the Ducks after a four-year stint as an assistant at Alabama and one year as co-offensive coordinator. He's a fine assistant, but the Auburn game proved he isn't head coach material at a program like this.

Rather than trust his excellent offensive line, Cristobal was scared of Auburn's defense, and had Herbert throw an abundance of screens, checkdowns, and safe routes despite the fact he has an all-world-caliber arm.

While he was missing several top wideouts and lost his best field stretcher in Dillon Mitchell to the pros, he never let Herbert get into a groove or test the Tigers downfield. Rather than come out firing in the second half, he coached scared and blew it.

Oregon also won the turnover battle, so there's no reason the Ducks should've been in the position they were late in the game.

Cristobal is a good motivator and can partially resurrect stagnant programs, but his lack of halftime adjustments and confusing game plans will hinder Herbert and the Ducks' ability to win a wide open Pac-12.