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College Football: Grading every new Power Five head coach in 2018

By John Mitchell

LINCOLN, NE - SEPTEMBER 15: Head coach Scott Frost of the Nebraska Cornhuskers watches late game action against the Troy Trojans at Memorial Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - SEPTEMBER 15: Head coach Scott Frost of the Nebraska Cornhuskers watches late game action against the Troy Trojans at Memorial Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) /

9. Jonathan Smith – Oregon State

  • Record: 1-5 (0-3)
  • Grade: C

No newly hired power-five coach was given a tougher rebuilding job that Jonathan Smith in Corvallis. Much like Nebraska, Oregon State turned to an alum to try and lead them out of the wilderness.

For over a decade, Mike Riley had established the Beavers as a solid program, leading Oregon State to 85-66 mark during his 12-seasons in his second stint in Corvallis. When Riley left to take the head job at Nebraska, Oregon State managed just a 7-29 mark in the three seasons since his departure, and turned from respectable program to PAC-12 cellar dweller.

If anyone is given a few years to turn things around, it will be Smith. Things have stayed mostly the same so far during his first season; the Beavers rank 112th in S&P+ and have yet to beat an FBS opponent. For the most part, they haven’t even been competitive. They lost by two at Nevada, but in their other four losses to FBS competition, the Beavers have been outscored by 26 points-per-game.

Smith has his work cut out for him at his alma mater, and he will need to improve the recruiting to improve the quality of the product on the field and move Oregon State out of the PAC-12’s cellar.

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