Just two seasons ago, the Oregon football team was competing in the national championship game against Ohio State under head coach Mark Helfrich.
Now, the Ducks have lost four consecutive games just six games into the season. They fell short against Nebraska, Colorado and Washington State before suffering a 70-21 blowout loss to No. 5 Washington.
“Certainly nobody draws this up,” Helfrich said in his post-Colorado press conference.
He publicly apologized to Oregon fans for the score of Saturday’s game against Washington. He has also said, “Anything that’s bad in this program is my responsibility.”
Helfrich said Tuesday that he and the program are keeping a level head.
“The same people that tell you you’re the greatest or the smartest or the best — which that’s probably not true — they also are the people that tell you you’re the bottom of the barrel, or whatever adjectives may be in there,” Helfrich said. “That’s not true either.”
Many University of Oregon students have voiced their disappointment in this season and debated about who is to blame. A GoFundMe account was comically set up with the intent of buying out Helfrich’s contract so that the Ducks could try their luck with a new head coach.
“[Helfrich] doesn’t recruit the players we need,” Oregon alum Ryan Langston said. “This one-year quarterback situation we have had the last two years just doesn’t work. I think a coaching change needs to happen, and that ultimately should be Helfrich.”
UO student Isaiah Patton agreed some changes might be in order.
“At some point you have to take pride in your performance,” Patton said. “Letting an opponent score 70 in Autzen just is not the Oregon way. Some changes should definitely be considered.”
Others have specific concerns about the future.
“I definitely think it’s time for a new head coach,” senior Dan Forbes said. “Someone who will shake things up, and really recruit.”
Still, some understood the complexity of such a large team and did not solely fault Helfrich.
“I don’t blame [Helfrich],” senior Jashrine Prasad said. “We have a transfer quarterback, our defense isn’t too strong, the pocket deteriorates too quickly; it’s just going to take some time.”
UO student Rachael Breen also attributes the Duck’s recent losses to more than just Helfrich’s coaching.
“At the beginning of the season, [Helfrich] definitely came out a little too ambitious, thinking as though we still had [Marcus] Mariota,” Breen said. “But I respect his decision to try to change things up and try a new quarterback. I also think that the primarily freshman line and defense is to blame.”
Helfrich has remained positive in his press conferences and made clear that he believes in his players even though they are “mentally struggling.”
“The biggest thing is just controlling us,” Helfrich said before the Washington game. “We are built around people and culture and character, and it’s times like these when you need that the most — not when the seas are calm and everything’s great. It’s times like these.”
Follow Alexa Chedid on Twitter @alexachedid18