For the first time in years Oregon enters a season without Mike Bellotti as their head coach. Bellotti is an Oregon head coaching legend and a big loss for the university and the conference. His replacement, Chip Kelly, has some big shoes to feel. Kelly is fit for this job. It was Bellotti who brought him to Oregon. It was Bellotti who made him famous. It was Bellotti resigning that gave him the opportunity to be the head coach at a BCS school. It will remain to be seen of Bellotti made the right call leaving the program in his hands.
Chip Kelly gained notoriety at New Hampshire where his offenses were always among the most potent in the nation. Bellotti was intrigued by Kelly’s offensive schemes and had started to study it. He implemented the spread option attack back in 2006. When I first saw Oregon running this style back in 2006 I proclaimed that it was a “gimmick offense”, shows much I know. In 2007 Bellotti brought Kelly over full time to be his offensive coordinator. That 2007 season was a big year for Oregon. They spent the majority of the year ranked high in the polls before collapsing down the stretch when their QB Dennis Dixon tore his ACL. That offense took the Pac-10 and the nation by storm, mainly because Dixon was the perfect guy to run it. Oregon ended up winning more games last year, although they weren’t in national title contention all year like they were in 2007. They still led the Pac-10 in offense last year and they don’t look like they are close to slowing down.
The Playmakers
Kelly is banking on junior Jeremiah Masoli to be the next Dennis Dixon. Masoli is undersized (5-11) but he is mobile and a good enough passer to run that system. He is a tough kid too, he proved it by blowing up an Oklahoma State defender in the Holiday Bowl last year:
Oregon also returns senior RB LaGarrette Blount who is big (6-2, 245) and averaged 7.2 yards a carry last year. He wasn’t the primary Oregon back last year, that honor went to Jeremiah Johnson, but that will be Blount’s role this year. Senior Andrew Crenshaw looks to be the compliment to Blount, but Crenshaw hasn’t done a whole lot in his Oregon career. Oregon doesn’t have a great corp of receivers, but that is okay considering the way they run their offense. Junior Jamere Holland was a hyped recruit and is said to possess blazing speed, he could be the man to stretch the defenses. The offensive line lost some talent, including its starting center and left tackle. Considering those are the two most important positions on an offensive line they better hope they find the right replacements.
The Defense
Oregon’s defense has never really impressed me, but it has always been good enough to give them a chance to win games. Their best player is cornerback Walter Thurmond. The senior has shut down ability, he is going to have to have a great year to compensate for the losses of Patrick Chung and Jarius Byrd in the secondary. Oregon’s defensive line also lost talent, losing three starters from last year. The lone returning starter is Will Tukuafu. Most of the linebackers return to this squad and junior-college transfer Bryson Littlejohn is supposed to be an impact recruit. Plus he has a super cool last name. Other linebackers include Spencer Paysinger and Eddie Pleasant, two more guys with cool last names.
Outlook
I have Oregon finishing third in the conference. They are a talented team but I don’t see them winning the conference or competing for a national title this year. Maybe they can blame that on their schedule maker. Their first three games are at Boise State and home dates against Purdue and Utah. Utah and Boise State combined to go 25-1 last year. You could add up all of Penn State’s non conference opponents from the past five years and they probably wouldn’t total 25 wins.
I also hear the Ducks have new uniforms this year. I haven’t seen them yet and I don’t think I want to.
