OSS: Oregon Ducks Learn from Early Mistake

Things could not have gotten any worse on the morning of Sept. 4.

The Ducks were dominated in a sloppy game that ended with one heck of a right jab. The world was ending in Eugene, the website FireChipKelly.com had been purchased, and it looked like the Ducks would go the way of past programs which had tried to replace the best coach in school history and began falling apart (Miami replacing Butch Davis, BYU replacing Lavell Edwards). 

Kelly was not going to let history take that course, though. Eight weeks later, the Ducks find themselves looking for ways to sneak into the National Championship game and watching replays of the 613-yard performance put up on the once-formidable USC defense.

We have listened to Chip Kelly and his players talk about taking things one game at a time and practicing hard, but there is something different about this team.

It is hard to pinpoint what makes this Oregon team so special, but it isn’t just what the Ducks do on the field. In my 20 years following the Ducks, I cannot think of a team that gives off this feeling of confidence mixed with fun and love of the game. 

This team just drips confidence, but it isn’t cockiness. It is a mature attitude exuded by the head coach every day and every game.

I was worried at the beginning of the season when we rarely saw Kelly show much emotion. Former coach Mike Bellotti was relatively unemotional, but it seemed like in the first two or three games, Kelly was truly feeling his way through his first head coaching experience.

Then the Cal game came along with a much different head coach. When his players did something good, he got excited and his players fed off that emotion. There is no doubt when a coach shows the youthful exuberance of a college kid, it excites the players and makes them not want to let their coach down. 

Fast forward to Halloween. The day starts off with ESPN College GameDay in town, and at 7:15 a.m., out comes Chip Kelly with the Duck mascot head on. What he said later that night was also something I think that rubbed off on his players. 

When asked about the GameDay shenanigans, Kelly replied, “I take my job seriously, I don’t have to take myself seriously.”

Jeremiah Masoli even said that he and LaMichael James were cracking some jokes during the game last Saturday. To me, that’s confidence: having fun and not letting the pressure get to them. 

During the game, after a false start penalty on offensive lineman Nick Cody, I watched as he ran toward the sideline and Chip Kelly. I assume Kelly wanted to know what happened and why he jumped early. After beating him down a little bit, he said something that got Cody fired up in a positive way and they high-fived each other with some energy. 

At that point, it became evident why this team has been playing so well. The players are having fun and their young coach is just as into it as they are, and shows it outwardly.    

That is one of those intangibles young players love playing for. 

Finally, I truly believe Kelly has let defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti open up his defensive playbook. Not only that, but the players who have been recruited have bought in and understand where they are supposed to be. 

Duck fans feel confident in a defense for the first time in 15 years and it comes as no surprise that the change occurred after a new head coach stepped in. Kelly, always known for his offense, recognized the defense would be a key to anything remotely resembling a national championship run in the near future.

If you asked anyone after the Boise game if Oregon would be 7-1 after a 47-point performance against USC, I bet some would think you were insane. But here are the Ducks, at No. 8 in the country—a testament to the coach, the players, and a program that has grown more over the past eight weeks than in the past eight years.