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There is a sympathy that extends between former assistants who have gone on to be promoted to head coaches. They know how hard it is to replace a legend, someone who elevated a program from good to great.

Of course, ahead of a showdown with No. 5 Oregon (8-1, 5-1), Utah coach Kyle Whittingham's empathy for Mark Helfrich extends only so far. A week after turning a feared Stanford defense into turnstiles, it doesn't look like he needs the moral support.

"It's not easy. I can tell you firsthand," Whittingham said. "How he's maintained that, that's pretty impressive."

Oregon, the darling school of the Swoosh. The program that never wears the same uniform twice. The program expects its linemen to run down the field just a step behind its skill players.

At the head of this West Coast empire is Helfrich, 41, who some wondered if his head would fit the crown. Characteristically, his ears seem immune to criticism, so he says.

"I haven't sensed that's ever been an issue," he said. "We have a tremendous amount of continuity here."

He has the evidence to support that claim: Of any Pac-12 team, Oregon is best positioned to earn a College Football Playoff spot. The offense the Ducks are known for is currently averaging 45.4 points per game, No. 6 in the country, and is helmed by a fleet-footed and steady-armed quarterback who many think will win the Heisman. They just trampled their biggest rival.

The echoes of Helfrich's critics are surely fading as more fans buy into the former coordinator. Nothing gives cache like winning.

The players, however, always believed.

"Coach Helfrich is a great coach, he's just a guy you don't want to disappoint," senior lineman Hroniss Grasu said. "Ever since he's taken over, he's been the guy. There's never been a question. This is his program."

It's just now that you can rightly say Helfrich may be getting out from under the shadow of Chip Kelly, an outspoken, type-A personality Grasu said was "very East Coast." He became renowned and revered for cultivating high-tempo offenses that ran circles around lumbering defenders.

The 2010 season saw Kelly help lead his team to the BCS title game, where they lost to by a field goal. Even in the two seasons when Oregon did lose multiple games under Kelly, the Ducks still went to the Rose Bowl both times.

The first anti-Helfrich sentiments started before he got the job. After The Oregonian reported that Kelly, then peeking at the NFL, wanted his offensive coordinator to succeed him, a season-ticket holder responded: "Oregon is a top 5 program now and does not need to resort to hiring a 2nd-tier QB coach who has never been a head coach."

It's a tough act to follow in every way for Helfrich, who possibly didn't get his due for his role in turning Oregon into the high-speed spread team it became. Buzz picked up after the Oregon-born "nice guy" went 11-2 in his first season and didn't make a BCS bowl for the first time in five years.

There's even been some similar cries this year — Oregon deserves better, Helfrich isn't up to it — after the Ducks fell to Arizona in their home stadium. Since then, they've rolled off four straight double-digit wins, which has a way of silencing the faithless.

Washington coach Chris Petersen, who is Helfrich's friend but also a victim of a steamrolling by the Ducks, said providing "continuity" is a lot harder than it sounds, even for a longtime assistant of the previous coach. Petersen did it himself at Boise State, memorably capping an undefeated season with a Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma, but building up to that takes a tough nut.

"You don't know everything that's going to happen until it's thrown your way," Petersen said. "Every year, you're retooling or reloading. It's very hard to stay on top. And Mark, I think he's done a great job of that."

For himself, maybe Helfrich is too nice of a guy to say whether he's making his own mark in Eugene.

"I'm probably the wrong person to ask," he said. "I just know our players believe 100 percent in what we're doing."

OK, a player then. Like senior safety Erick Dargan. Does he think Helfrich now fits the chair?

Definitely.

"Honestly, the outside thinking doesn't even matter," he said. "We've kept our heads right in-house. That's what we're worried about." —

Mark Helfrich file

• 19-3 as Oregon head coach over two seasons

• Served as QB coach and offensive coordinator at Oregon and Colorado

• FootballScoop QB coach of the year in 2010, 2012

• Medford, Ore., native who played quarterback at Southern Oregon University —

No. 5 Oregon at No. 20 Utah

O Saturday, 8 p.m.

TV • ESPN