College Football 2020: 5 head coaches who deserve a raise

4. Jonathan Smith, Oregon State

How does a coach with a .292 winning percentage and only three years at a school make this list? When he coaches the Oregon State Beavers.

When Jonathan Smith took over the Beavers program, they hadn’t produced a winning season since 2013, which was also the last year they won a bowl game.

The Gary Andersen era was a complete disaster, and the program was at one of its lowest points in school history — and that’s saying something. Oregon State does not exactly have a storied football history. Both Mike Riley and Dennis Erickson made winning in Corvallis look easier than it really is.

In the three seasons before Smith took the helm, the Beavers won just seven games — four of those victories came in one season. Though Smith has won just seven games in his first two seasons, the Beavers improved statistically in both years.

Last season they were within an eyelash of going from two wins in 2018 to a bowl game. Had it not been for an early loss to Hawaii or a one-point defeat to Washington State, the Beavers were likely bowling.

Smith has done an outstanding job so far with Oregon State, and if it keeps trending upward, fans will enjoy the best era of Beavers football in a while.