The Rise Of Oregon Football

Despite all of Oregon's recent success, I still get the occasional "we used to whip up on Oregon every year."  It's no secret that prior to 1994, the only thing Oregon was known for was their track program, and some movie called "Animal House."

1994 was a significant year in Oregon football.  It was the year they decided to take this football thing serious, and turn the program into a national powerhouse.

Oregon in the 1994 Rose Bowl

It was also significant because Rich Brooks took the Ducks to the Rose Bowl, their first trip to Pasadena since 1958.  Oregon lost to Penn State and after the season Brooks left Oregon for the NFL.  

Replacing him was offensive coordinator Mike Bellotti, who had the vision of building upon the success Brooks started. 

The 1995 season brought Oregon's second straight 9-win season and New Year's Day bowl game.  This time it was the Cotton Bowl, and another loss, but the program was still gaining attention.  In particular, from a very important graduate.

Nike founder Phil Knight wanted to help Oregon sustain their success and continue to build upon it.
His vision was to make Oregon into a national powerhouse as well.  

The result has been one of the greatest rises in college sports history.

The 2000 season brought Oregon their first 10-win season in program history following a 35-30 win over Texas in the Holiday bowl.

Oregon vs. Texas from the 2000 Holiday Bowl

The following year they earned their first ever 11-win season with a convincing 38-16 victory over Colorado in the Fiesta bowl.  They also finished the season ranked #2 in both final polls, their highest ranking in the final polls in program history.

By now Oregon was recognized as a legitimate player on the West coast.  Elite players were slowly starting to trickle in to Eugene.

Meanwhile, Phil Knight was at work behind the scenes donating money to the program to improve the facilities, and also by working with players, allowing them to be part of the uniform design.

Nike's partnership with Oregon appealed to elite recruits like former five star recruit (WR) Cameron Colvin, who chose Oregon over programs like Michigan and USC.

"Nike is the elite in sports apparel and having the ability to work with them and give feedback, while also helping with uniform design is a big deal to a teenage kid," Colvin said.

2005 brought another 10-win season and more uniform changes.  On Nov.19, Oregon played Oregon state in their rivalry known as the civil war, and the Ducks debuted some uniforms that had never been seen before.

Shocking and cutting edge to some, disgusting to others, it got people talking about Oregon football.
The players seemed to like them...they went on to crush the beavers in that game, 56-14.

In 2007 Oregon introduced Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator, who instilled a flashy new spread offense to match the uniforms.  

Oregon QB Dennis Dixon scoring on a fake statue and liberty play vs. Mich

They took their show on the road to Ann Arbor for an early season showdown on national t.v. with Michigan.  The Ducks uniforms and offense were on display for everybody to see that day, and they earned a program defining win, handing Michigan their worst home loss in school history (39-7).

Oregon climbed as high as #2 in both polls and were in the drivers seat to play for a national championship, until QB Dennis Dixon tore his ACL and was lost for the season.  

The season could have been so much more for Oregon, but they finished with a 9-4 record and a Sun bowl victory over South Florida, 56-21.

2008 was another 10-win season for Oregon, and was also Mike Bellotti's last as head coach.  In 15 years Bellotti went 171-55.  Replacing him was offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.

All Kelly did was take Oregon to even greater heights.

In 2009, Kelly led the Ducks to a 10-3 record and a birth in the Rose bowl against Ohio State.  Even though Oregon lost (26-17), recruits were taking notice across the nation about this Oregon offense, and wanting to play in it.

2010 was a year of many firsts for Oregon: their first 12-win season, first time to ever start a season 12-0, first time being ranked #1 in the nation, and first ever appearance in a national championship game.            

If it wasn't for the refs blowing this call (his wrist was down) Oregon may have a national championship by now

  

A heartbreaking 22-19 loss to Auburn it was, but Oregon was still riding high.  They had become the "it program" with the "it coach."


The following year was another 12-win season and another trip to the Rose bowl.  This time Oregon won, defeating Wisconsin 45-38.  In 2012 Oregon earned their third straight 12-win season and a Fiesta bowl victory over Kansas State.

Kenjon Barner (24) and Oregon ran away from Kansas State in the Fiesta bowl

 Following the season Chip Kelly stepped down as head coach, leaving for the NFL.  He led Oregon to a 46-7 record, 2 bcs bowl wins (4 appearances), and had them in contention for a national championship every year. 

Now Mark Helfrich takes over as head coach, who previously served as Oregon's offensive coordinator (see a pattern going on here?)  If history is any indication, Helfrich is gonna continue to sustain the success left by his predecessors.

Since 1994 Oregon has risen to the top of the college football world.  What was once viewed at as a team that everybody whoops up on, became the bully's on the block.

This has been made possible thanks to coaches dedicated to building on the success, and one very rich alum, with the vision of making Oregon into a football power.

The talent is there, Nike, the facilities, and the commitment.  In other words, don't expect Oregon to fall off anytime soon.

TIMELINE OF EVENTS:

• 1994 - Oregon goes 9-4 and plays in their first Rose bowl since 1958 
• 1995 - Oregon goes 9-3 and was the year Nike founder Phil Knight got involved
• 2000 - Oregon's first 10-win season
• 2001 - Oregon wins 11 games and finishes #2 in the nation after crushing Colorado in the Fiesta bowl
• 2003 - Oregon gets a marquee win at Autzen over Michigan
• 2005 - Oregon gets another 10-win season and debuts a cutting edge new uniform that gets the people talking
• 2007 - Oregon clobbers Michigan 39-7 and spent the majority of the season in contention for the national championship. At this point Oregon became a national player.
• 2008 - Oregon gets a 10-win season and Mike Bellotti steps down as head coach
• 2009 - In Chip Kelly's first year as head coach, he leads Oregon to a 10-3 record and appearance in the Rose bowl
• 2010 - Oregon starts the season 12-0 and plays Auburn for the national championship
• 2011 - Oregon wins 12 games again and defeats Wisconsin in the Rose bowl 45-38
• 2012 - Oregon's third straight 12 win season is capped with a 35-17 win over Kansas State in the Fiesta bowl       

Looking Back On Chip Kelly

Before I get into my thoughts on Chip leaving, let's give credit to the man.  He turned Oregon into a top 10 program, and made them not only a perennial national championship contender, but also one of the "it" programs for top recruits across the nation to consider.

In four years at Oregon he went 46-7 and played in a BCS bowl game in each of those four years, including wins in the 2011 Rose Bowl and 2012 Fiesta Bowl, and an appearance in the 2010 national championship game.  

Who would've seen that coming if you were one of the thousands in attendance on a wet November day in 1983, as you watched your Oregon Ducks play the beavers to a scoreless tie?  Fortunately I wasn't even alive yet to witness such a thing.  I've had it pretty good as a Duck fan, I must admit.

With his unique play calling and fast paced offense, Chip made Oregon one of the most exciting teams in the nation to watch.  And that appealed to top recruits everywhere, who watched Oregon on t.v. thinks to the Ducks increased exposure, and wanted to come play in this offense.  

Blowing teams out and putting up 50 or more points a game became part of the norm.

But when the players came to Oregon, it didn't matter how many stars they had next to their name, they all had to buy into Chip's system.  Nobody was bigger than the program, or more important than the next guy.  If you didn't give it your all in practice, you weren't playing.

With his attention to detail in practice, the way he ran practice, and his emphasis on "winning the day" and "finish strong," as well as having his players all buy in, Oregon was able to be very successful.  

Though his time at Oregon was short, Chip left behind a lasting legacy at Oregon.  He made Oregon fun to watch to the casual fan, turned them into a dominating force (unstoppable at times), and over a four year stretch, took Oregon to heights once seemed unthinkable.

He will certainly go down as probably the greatest coach in Oregon history.  The bar has been set.     

Forget The ESPYs, These Are The Duckies

DUCKIES

Clearly ESPN is biased towards the Ducks.  If you wasted your time by watching the ESPYs last night, you would've noticed that.  But forget those, here are the REAL winners: 

• BREAKTHROUGH ATH. OF THE YEAR: DeAnthony Thomas

DeAnthony Thomas' breakthrough game had to of been the Rose Bowl.

 DeAnthony Thomas aka "The Black Mamba."  In just his freshman year, DeAnthony Thomas was a freshman All-American, ranked 11th nationally in all-purpose yards, and was the only player in the nation with at least 400 yards receiving, rushing, and kick returning.

• RECORD BREAKING PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR: LMJ vs. UCLA

LaMichael James set the Pac 12 championship game standard with 219 yards and 3 touchdowns on 25 carries against UCLA.

• BIGGEST UPSET: USC beating Oregon

I'm going the other way with this and saying USC.  In a game the Ducks had to have to keep their national championship hopes alive, they came out sluggish, and #18 USC (double digit underdogs) made them pay.  They had a 24-7 lead at one point in the third quarter.  Oregon finally showed that they were better than that, and came back, but a missed fg at the end cost them, and ended their hopes of playing for a national championship.

• GAME OF THE YEAR: Rose Bowl

In one of college football's games of the year, the Ducks FINALLY got that BCS monkey off their back, and ended their Rose Bowl drought with a 45-38 win over Wisconsin.

• BEST MOMENT: Winning The Rose Bowl 

The moment the clock hit zero.

• COACH OF THE YEAR: Chip Kelly

Coached the team to a third straight conference championship and won a Rose Bowl!  Need I say more?

• BEST COMEBACK: vs. #18ASU 10/15/11

It was kind of hard to find a good comeback win because, Oregon hasn't had to come from behind in many of its games.  So I went with this.  The #9 Ducks trailed throughout much of the first half, but they woke up in the second half and took the lead for good in the third quarter, on a 3 yard TD run by DeAnthony Thomas.  The Ducks would go on to win 41-27, in front of an Autzen stadium crowd of 60,0055.

LaMichael James

• PLAYER OF THE YEAR: LaMichael James

He set numerous records this year, including: most consecutive games at Oregon with over 100+ yards rushing, and 200+ yards rushing, he became Oregon's all-time leader in rushing yards and climbed up to #2 on the list in Pac 12 history, oh and he led the nation in rushing yards per game.  Pretty shabby.  
 

A Message To The Pac 12

Got into a conversation the other day with a coug fan about who has the worst fans in the Pac 12.  His answer?  Oregon.  And the beaver fan butting in on our conversation naturally said the same thing.

And they're not alone in this.  Many of the other fans from the conferences 11 other teams say the same thing.

To be fair, even I can admit Oregon fans can be a little overzealous at times.  What can I say?  We're proud of our teams' recent success.  The seed that was planted 18 years ago when Kenny Wheaton went the other way against Washington, is now a full grown Douglas Fir tree.

Oregon fans love to point out that their fir is more beautiful than yours!  So if you're getting tired of it and want them to go away, it aint happin'.

Oregon has a track record that goes back to "the pick" in 1994, and has been building since.  Joey Harrington took the program to the next level in 2000 and 2001.  In both years - 2001 especially when they were snubbed out of the NC - Oregon was in contention for a national championship appearance. 

Since Chip Kelly has been here (first as an OC in '07) Oregon has climbed to even greater heights.  National champion contenders in '07, '09, played for it in '10, and again a contender last year.

Oregon is the only team currently in the country to have played in three straight bcs bowl games.

And fans that used to say, "Kelly has yet to win a bcs game," can no longer play that card after Oregon's win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.

Sure Oregon lost an experienced starter at QB in Darron Thomas, who went 23-3, but the Ducks have depth all around, including at QB.

Both Brian Bennett and Marcus Mariota have tremendous potential.  

Combine that with many key players returning, some people project Oregon will be BETTER in 2012, and they're set up nicely beyond 2012 as well.

Of course there are the sanctions yet to be handed down, and that's the only hope fans from the 11 other teams have.  However, from what I've read so far, I see no reason to think it will be anything more than a slap on the wrist.

And Chip may leave for the NFL as he almost did earlier this year.

The point is this:  the program that turned the corner in '94, will keep movin' along.

The Ducks aren't going away.

The Play Time Stood Still For Oregon

What's in an inch?  Not much.  Pretty hard to fit something in such a tight squeeze.  But to Duck fans an inch may as well have represented the distance from here to the moon, that's how significant one inch was.


Of course I'm referring to the play in the Rose Bowl vs. Wisconsin.  


The moment occurred with 4:08 left in the fourth quarter.  Oregon led Wisconsin 45-38.  The Badgers were driving when QB Russell Wilson hit Jared Abbrederis for a long pass.  


With Abbrederis running in open space toward the sideline, Oregon CB #27 Terrence Mitchell came up and poked the ball loose.


A football tends to bounce funny- you never know what direction it's gonna go next.  On this particular moment, it came to a perfect standstill, allowing Oregon LB Michael Clay to pounce on the ball.


The football gods were shinning down on Oregon that night.  Finally, the ball "bounced" their way.

Chip Kelly and Oregon players reacting to the fumble

Official replays confirmed it was Oregon's ball, but they already knew it, as Chip Kelly was famously seen in this photo, jumping for joy.


Football truly is a game of inches.  Years of heartache and going without a Rose Bowl win came down to that one inch.  Oregon got the ball back and was able to bleed off some time.  Wisconsin did get another opportunity, but they ultimately ran out of time.


Oregon won 45-38!

Just A Reminder

Happy Rose Bowl Day!

Is it just me, or does Todd McShay sound like he's still a little boy? Corso is funny, he gets it...just heard him say (when talking about that bowl game between ohio state and flordia) "the winner gets 7-6, whoopeee." That's exactly right...many of these bowl games are meaningless and nothing but glorified non conference games, that serve as only a game to pad your record and stats. I'm gonna miss those guys for another year. One bowl game that's not meaningless is the Rose Bowl. I love how the Rose Bowl is always referred to as the "grandaddy" of them all. The pinnacle. The grandest stage. But I thought that's what the national title game was? Anyway...the Rose bowl is special. I realized that in 2010 when I went...you walk in and see the field, and the setting, and it's pretty cool. Big game for the Ducks. Do they have to have it? Maybe not in the long run, but it would sure be one of the greatest moments in Duck history if they could. After all, their last Rose Bowl win came before most of us, if not all of us, were born.

Keys To Beating Bucky: My Take on the Rose Bowl

   The Ducks are all business this year as they prepare for the Rose Bowl, against B1G conference champions Wisconsin.  The 98th edition of the grandaddy of 'em all features a match-up between two elite teams with contrasting styles, and a lot to play for.  And maybe more so for Oregon.

   The Ducks come into the game playing in their third straight BCS bowl, having lost the previous two.  In order to take the next step and be taken seriously, the Ducks need to win this game, otherwise they're on the verge of becoming known as a cute little program, that can't win the big game.

   It would also be a chance to salvage a season that just a month ago, had potential for so much more.  Everybody thought the Ducks were out of the national championship picture after losing to LSU, and yet here they were on Nov. 19, against USC, back in it.  However, a missed field goal at the end put the final dagger on those chances.

   A loss in the Rose Bowl and this becomes a disappointing season.  A season of what could have been?  A win makes up for that loss, and sends them into the recruiting season with momentum.  The Ducks also wanna send LaMichael James out on a win.  James, one of the best running backs (if not the best) in Oregon history will likely be playing his last game in a Duck uniform, as he gets ready for a future in the NFL.

   The Ducks literally have a tall task in front of them if they wanna meet those goals.  Standing in their way is a BIG and powerful Wisconsin Badger team.  What do the Ducks need to do to win this game?  The answer is simple:  once again it all comes down to a battle of the trenches.

   I say that because Wisconsin has some giants on both sides of the line.  Look at some of the teams Oregon has lost to recently:  LSU this year, Auburn and Ohio State in 2010 (both in bcs games), and Boise State in '09.  What did they have in common?  Big defensive lines that were able to shut down Oregon's offense, and offensive lines that were able to contain Oregon's blitzing defense, and move the ball on them.

   I love Oregon's offense so I hate to say this, but when a team is able to shut them down - like Auburn did, like Ohio State did, like LSU did - Oregon's offense does look gimmicky and becomes rather pedestrian.

   Wisconsin probably has the second or third best defense Oregon will have faced this year (LSU being #1, USC being #2).  The Badgers have the nations number eight total team defense, and give up an average of 17 points per game.

   The Badgers' offensive line is bigger than all but TWO NFL lines.  The average size on the Badger offensive line is 6-5, 320 pounds.  The Ducks counter with a fast defensive line that is second in the nation in sacks with 43.  And it's not as if the Badgers' offensive line is stellar at pass blocking.  They are 59th in the nation in sacks allowed with 23.

   On offense the Ducks must be able to establish the run game by getting good blocks up front.  On defense, they must be able to get pressure on Wisconsin's quarterback Russell Wilson.  The run d, which gives up a mere 3.6 ypc, needs to be able to contain one of the nations best backs in Montee Ball.  Easier said than done.

   If the Ducks can do that, I feel good about their chances.  The players talk about being tired of losing these bowl games.  Even a loss though is a learning experience, and the Ducks have plenty of big bowl game experience.  Most of the players on this team were on last year's team that played in the national championship, and were also on the team that played in the 2010 Rose Bowl.  "They understand the task at hand," Chip Kelly said, on referring to his players.

   Hopefully they do, and the business like approach ends in a big pay day.

NOTES:

• All-Time series: Wisconsin leads 3-1
• Oregon won the last meeting in 2001, 31-28
• Oregon is 9-15 all-time in bowl games (2-2 in last 4)
• Oregon is 1-2 all-time in bcs bowl games
• Oregon is 1-4 all-time in the Rose Bowl
• Oregon has the nations No. 6 total offense (Wisc. is 15th)
• Oregon has the nations No. 5 rush offense (Wisc. is 10th)
• Oregon has the nations No. 3 scoring offense (Wisc. is 4th)
• Both teams are pretty even in passing offense (Ore. is 71st/Wisc. is  62nd)