5 of the Oregon Ducks' Toughest Games in the Chip Kelly Era

While the time that Chip Kelly has spent as Oregon head coach has been great, Kelly has also seen his fair share of challenges and concerns. 

Kelly came to Eugene in 2007, took over the offense and brought it to a new level. In 2009, he was named the new head coach at Oregon, and over the following three years, Kelly showed he is more than up for the task.

With three conference titles, a national title appearance and two Rose Bowl appearances—including a win this past season—Kelly has blown away all expectations, but not without some challenges.

Despite the wins that have piled up, here is a look back at the five toughest games that Kelly has faced since taking over at Oregon. 

2009 at Boise State

After being handed the job at Oregon, Kelly immediately faced a challenge by starting his coaching career on the road against Boise State.

Not only was the game tough, as the Ducks failed to reach double digits in points, but following the game, star running back LeGarrette Blount took his frustrations out on a Boise State player and hit him with a clean right cross. 

Within the first game as head coach, Kelly was already facing decisions that would shape his career at Oregon.

2009 at Stanford

After the loss at Boise State to start the season, Oregon seemed to get things turned around and heading in the right direction. With only one loss and a conference title in sight, the Ducks headed to Stanford for a big game.

While the offense was up for the challenge, the defense failed to make an meaningful stops and the Ducks lost in a shoot out 51-42.

2010 at Cal

During the 2010 season, the Ducks were undefeated and heading into the home stretch of their schedule. Late in the year, the Ducks went on the road to play Cal, and with their quick strike offense, many believed the Ducks would run away with this game as well. 

Early on, Cal set the tone that this was going to be a hard-fought game as the Bears stuffed the run, controlled quarterback Darron Thomas and wouldn't let the passing game spread the field.

Ultimately, the Oregon defense won the day as the Ducks escaped with a 15-13 win. 

2011 National Championship

After running through the conference schedule, Oregon earned a trip to the BCS National Championship game with their 12-0 record. Their opponent for the game would be Auburn.

Some expected the Tigers to win easily, while others expected the Ducks' speed to be the difference.

In the end, Oregon once again struggled with a big defensive line and lost 22-19 on a last second field goal. 

2011 vs LSU

Coming off of their loss in the national championship, Oregon was in the showcase game of the opening week of the 2011 season as they took on LSU in Dallas.

Once again, the Ducks found it difficult to deal with the size of an SEC team as the Tigers pounded the ball in the run game and slowed down the Ducks' rushing attack.

On top of the struggles in running the ball, Oregon also could not hang on to the ball in the second half and ended up losing 40-27.