Season Review

Many people felt that this was Chip Kelly's most balanced team at Oregon going into the season, and had the potential to be his best.   

And they were balanced, as they were dominate on both sides of the ball, ranking second in the nation in scoring offense and 25th in scoring defense.  Most games were over by halftime.  In fact, 8 of Oregon's 12 opponents couldn't even hang within 3 td's.

Oregon got off to a 10-0 start and were in position to play for the national championship, and probably would have if it weren't for a fluky 17-14 overtime loss to Stanford.  There were so many "what if's" in that game.   

Like the chop block by De'Anthony Thomas, which would have turned a 77-yard Mariota run to the Stanford 15-yard line, possibly into an early touchdown.  The officials rulling that Stanford TE Zach Ertz had control of that 10-yard pass in the back of the endzone, tying the game at 14, with 1:35 to go in the 4th qtr. And Oregon's kicker Alejandro Maldonado missing that FG in OT, setting Stanford up for an easy game winner.

De'Anthony Thomas stepped up big in Oregon's 48-24 win over the rats

(24) Kenjon Barner and the Ducks ran away from KSU in the fiesta bowl

But the Ducks rebounded the following week with a dominating win in the civil war, and beat a top 5 Kansas St. team decisively, 35-17, in the fiesta bowl.  The Ducks finished the season ranked No.2 in both major polls, which tied the school record for best-ever final ranking. 


Then came the loss of Chip Kelly, who took the job with the Philadelphia Eagles, putting a damper on things, after it seemed like he had turned the NFL down for a second year in a row.

But that doesn't take away from the fact that it was another great year for Oregon football.  Another 12 win season, back-to-back bcs bowl wins, and finishing No.2 in both polls.  The only negative was the loss to Stanford, which prevented Oregon from playing Notre Dame in the national championship.  A game that most experts thought Oregon would win easily.

Losing Chip was tough, but Oregon will be fine.  They're pretty stacked with what they have coming back, and who they have coming in.  They'll be in almost everybody's top 5 at the start of next year, and will be favored in every game they play. 

Sports Illustrated Showing DAT Some Love

I wonder what the person who told me De'Anthony Thomas was overrated at the beginning of the season is thinking now?  Might wanna take off your orange colored glasses and wake up!  Don't let your Duck envy get in the way of recognizing game.

A threat to score every time he touches the ball, he's totaled 382 yards on 24 touches (13 rushing, 11 receiving), and the 7 touchdowns Thomas has are tied for the most in the nation.

Oh, and he returns punts too (when teams actually kick to him).  Thomas averages 13.3 yards on 7 returns, ranking him in the top 30 nationally.

As for the person who called him overrated?  Strange, I haven't heard back from him in a while.  It's ok, I understand...nobody likes to eat their own crow.

Oregon's Offensive Machine: Who Wouldn't Want To Play In It?

There's that famous line from the movie Gladiator during the first battle, in which Maximus says, "at my signal, unleash hell."

That's kinda how the Oregon Ducks offense is.  Chip Kelly is Maximus.  He's the general.  The players get the signal from the sideline by reading the giant playcards.  And when the ball is snapped, all kinds of hell is unleashed.

It's a relentless assault that doesn't stop.  In fact it only gets worse as the game goes on.  It emphasizes speed - both with the individual player, and the amount of time in between plays.

The latter of which is what wears opponents out throughout the course of the game, and allows them to put up their eye popping numbers.  Oregon's offense is always one of the best in the country.

"The style they play is like nothing that anybody's ever seen," said USC coach Lane Kiffin.

Oregon is one of the fastest teams in the nation at getting to the snap.  At 23.2 seconds between plays, they're 32% faster than the average team.

That kind of pace wears out the opposition, leaving players with their hands on their hips by the second half.  As fatigue sets in players are more likely to miss an assignment or a tackle.  The next thing you know...the flood gates have opened.

What once was a close game turns into a blowout.  Looking at a stretch of 10 games dating back to 2009, in which Oregon either trailed or had a slim lead at half time, the Ducks outscored their opponents 257-68 in the second half.

As Oregon's offense continues to lead the nation or be near the top in every major category, they continue to attract top recruits.

Should you really be surprised?  Who wouldn't want to play in this offense?

Dontre Wilson

Running backs especially have taken notice.  Oregon just recently plucked another RB from the Longhorns own backyard in Texas, in 4 star recruit Dontre Wilson.

Wilson, rated the #2 all-purpose back in the nation by rivals, chose Oregon because, "I just think that's the perfect fit for me."

With the addition of Wilson, Oregon has an embarrassment of riches at RB.  He joins 5 star recruit Thomas Tyner, and the two will be competing for carries with De'Anthony Thomas - who's already on most people's Heisman watch list.

The system feeds itself.  As Oregon continues to stock pile talent, the more they'll continue to put up big numbers, and the less likely they are to fall off.  The machine just keeps on rollin.

De'Anthony Thomas 91 Yard Rose Bowl Run

Wanna see speed?  Here's what sub 4.3 looks like.  It'll leave you suckin' wind like poor number 7 here for the Badgers.  This run set a Rose Bowl record for longest touchdown run.  Pretty cool!  


I laugh at this because, as a former player that's been in this position before (on the wrong end of it) it's a pretty helpless feeling.

De'Anthony Thomas on Heisman Watchlist

Just picked this up from Ted Miller's blog: De'Anthony Thomas is at 25-1 odds of winning the Heisman next year, according to Danny Sheridan.  That's a nice bit of recognition and exposure, but obviously we know the Heisman winner, will likely be a quarterback (again), and will come from the SEC.  Still though, expect Thomas to be a bigger part of the offense this year, and put up bigger numbers.  It's great to have him in the discussion.