Current Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly had a marvelous run as the head coach of the Oregon Ducks from 2009-2012, going 46-7 (33-3 Pac-12).
His teams earned wins in the Fiesta Bowl and Rose Bowl to go with a BCS National Championship Game loss in 2010.
Kelly’s Ducks were known for innovative offenses, absurdly talented running backs and, above all else, so many wins.
But that run came to an end as Kelly’s years-long flirtation with the NFL reached its inevitable conclusion as the Philadelphia Eagles made him their head coach ahead of the 2013 season. It was good timing, too, since the NCAA was just about to hit Kelly with an 18 month show-cause penalty for recruiting violations.
But just six years later, Kelly was back in college football on the West Coast as the head coach of UCLA. And whatever weirdness there was with Kelly taking over one of the Ducks’ biggest conference rivals was quickly replaced with a different kind of weirdness.
Try as he might, Kelly could not defeat Oregon.
From 2018-2022, Kelly’s Bruins teams faced the Ducks four times. Here’s how they went:
- 2018: 42-21, Ducks
- 2020: 38-25, Ducks
- 2021: 34-31, Ducks
- 2022: 45-30, Ducks
UCLA didn’t face Oregon in 2023 and by the end of the season Kelly was on his way out, leaving the Power Four program to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State under his New Hampshire disciple Ryan Day.
Now the Buckeyes head to Eugene in Week 7 for a matchup of the No. 2 Buckeyes against the No. 3 Ducks. It’s one of the most anticipated matchups of the year as the newly minted Big Ten rivals face each other for the first time as members of the same conference.
We’ll see if Kelly’s team can finally do what was once taken for granted: Win at Autzen Stadium.
