Oregon Duck Football: Chip Kelly Has Problems Other Coaches Only Dream About

Yes, it was a sloppy first half.

So send the offense straight to bed with no dinner.

Yes, it was another win over a sub-.500 bum-of-the-week.

How about 10 lashes for the scheduling gnomes?

And yes, it's mid-November and the Ducks have yet to face their fiercest offense-stifling challenge—a good old-fashioned Northwest deluge.

Curse Thor and withhold your sacrifice.

With all the apparent angst over last week's 53-16 beatdown on the Huskies, there still seems to be a resistance by some to accept success.

In Duckville, memories of the excruciating BCS snub of 2001 and Dennis Dixon's 2007 tragic injury refuse to fade. There remains a very tangible expectation for that other Vibram-soled combat boot to fall.

And still, enough has gone right to keep Oregon in the top spot on every major poll in the land—including the demanding, unforgiving, cold-hearted BCS poll.

Not a bad accomplishment considering the target, the curse and the pressure of being No. 1.

With Nate Costa going down to a knee injury last Saturday, coach Chip Kelly's most pressing challenge is how to plug the hole at backup quarterback. On a team which thrives on its depth, that most critical position is now a little shallow.

"I could handle having that problem," is what you can bet almost every other coach looking up the rankings is secretly thinking.

Next, Kelly must continue to keep his team's focus away from the headlines. With the distractions of LeGarrette Blount and Jeremiah Masoli still emitting a faint aroma, this year's team seems remarkably self-disciplined. The notoriety of the national polls has seemingly had minimal team impact.

"I'll take some of that," Kelly's rivals are probably reasoning.

Anyone who has coached a team on a mission knows the challenge of bringing the collective energy down to the task at hand: the next game. Kelly, through his "Win the Day" mantra, has wisely made that job easier by instilling a philosophy of daily victories—in every aspect of life.

"That's to die for!" is the inner cry of every coach who now finds his team's destiny in the hands of fate.

With three very winnable games left on the schedule, Chip Kelly should be the one Division I coach who sleeps the soundest at night. He's got his team believing in itself, both on and off the field.

He's got a staff that has made all the right halftime adjustments—and the players who execute those adjustments—to ensure nine-for-nine victorious outcomes.

And he's got the most realistic probability of anyone in the land to coach in a national championship game.

So take a long, deep breath of that cool, clean Oregon air, Duck fans.

Right now, everyone else is eating dust.