The Oregon Ducks earned a hard fought win vs. Purdue Saturday night at Autzen Stadium, winning 38-36 when Purdue's two point conversion attempt was caught beyond the end zone. From there, Oregon covers Purdue's onside kick and it is "victory formation" for a couple of snaps to give Chip Kelly his first win as a head coach.
After much consternation, nationwide ridicule, and general chaos after the Boise State game, Oregon had to re-focus and get ready for Purdue. What had been seen as a near certain "W" and either the perfect balm to an opening loss or a sure return to .500.
But the events of the opening weekend ran pretty contrary to those assumptions on a couple of fronts.
First, the suspension of LaGarrette Blount and the task of replacing an experienced running back with two freshman - one a converted DB - namely LaMichael James and Kenyon Barner. Throw in Andre Crenshaw for a little senior comfort, and there you have the new Oregon backfield.
The second part of the conspiracy was that Purdue jumped out to a big lead in their first game against Toledo and cruised to victory. This allowed the Boilermakers to keep their playbook closed and they showed a wide range offensive sets and player combinations. "Threw everything but the kitchen sink at us," is how defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti phrased it.
On defense - and we better get used to noting this stat - Oregon was on the field for more than 36 minutes. Though an improvement over the Boise State game, this closely resembles what the defense faced last year with one major difference - last year's offensive output.
It is one thing to play lots of minutes with a lead, sometimes a big lead, and another to play even, or behind, as happened with Purdue. Offensive ineptitude was the order of the day well into the third quarter. Dropped balls, high snaps, fumbles, and motion penalties hindered Oregon's attempts to create an offensive flow. Oregon had 5 punts and a lost fumble in the first half alone. Ten of their 17 halftime points were the result of Casey Matthew's interception leading to a field goal and Walter Thurmond III's pick six.
But the Ducks did show signs of life and the best sign was named Jeremiah Masoli. Seemingly forgetting the BSU fiasco, he made better reads on the option and was on his toes when he threw the ball. Gone was the staring down of the receiver and the flatfooted throws of a week ago.
Oregon's offensive line was able to open holes the Purdue defense loaded effectively against the run. They sometimes do stuff the run but other times the runner doesn't see the lane that opens with the zone blocking scheme. Both Oregon backs are young and show much promise, but it's one thing to do it in practice, and quite another in the game with the adrenalin flowing.
The wideouts again have a couple of drops in the first half much resembling my old car that sputters and starts, then stops and we do the whole drill from the top.
On special teams, Oregon covers well on their punts and kickoffs but returns are another story. There was more laundry on the ground on Oregon return teams than in a backyard after a hurricane on wash day. This must be fixed or replacements found for the current group. These penalties are hurting what could be a special "special" team, with Walter Thurmond III a threat for big yardage every time he touches the ball.
The second half didn't start out much better. Their first three possessions result in a missed field goal, a lost fumble and a punt. At this point with the Ducks trailing 24-17, there are seeds of doubt among the Autzen faithful. Again it was the defense that made a play, Javes Lewis scooped up Purdue's Joey Elliot's fumble and returns it for the touchdown to tie the game at 24.
Oregon's defense got the stop after the kickoff and then something happens. It starts slowly, the Ducks complete a four yard pass to their own 32. Perhaps its just getting some reps under his belt, perhaps the adrenalin has slowed or maybe it is the talent taking over, but here comes LaMichael James. He tears off runs of 9 and 6 yards to show that the O-line is creating space to run. No question that having video game like quickness helps too, as he starts and stops, jukes and jolts through the defense. Masoli connects with tight end David Paulson for 11 more yards, then he hands off to James again.
Lowering his 5'9'' frame to hide behind a guard; he stops, he starts; he straight arms a tackler; he turns the corner inside out with a stutter step, then he turns on the burners and goes for 27 yards to the Purdue 15! Jeremiah gets the last 15 yards on the option keeper on the next play and Oregon takes a 31-24 lead. 82 yards in 1:27. Shades of last year.
In the 4th quarter, after dropping a sure touchdown pass that would have offered some breathing room, Oregon has a 3rd and 19 at the Purdue 21 with 6:42 left in the game. Trying to set up the field goal, Chip Kelly calls for a little misdirection draw to get the ball in the middle of the field. Apparently he forgot to mention the game plan to Kenyon Barner. After watching his buddy James get things rolling, the other youngster glides into the end zone leaving tacklers in his wake. Oregon leads 38-30.
It's apparent that these young men can run the football. They just needed a little time to adjust to a real game situation. Maybe Coach Kelly can run a few more wishbone formations to really give the defense fits. Whom would they tackle? Does Oregon need 4 wideouts all the time? What will give the opposing team's defense the most trouble: Oregon's run game or it's still inconsistent pass game?
All these questions will be answered with the help of the visiting Utah Utes this next weekend in the friendly confines of Autzen.
One thing you can count on with the 2009 Ducks: it's a work in progess, yes. But these kids will play hard and fast and they will get better. Will they get better fast enough with Utah and Cal next up? Hard to say, but if this team comes out 2-2 but is improving, they can be a very good team by year's end. Some say they won't make a bowl. While that could be true, I think this team has character to match the talent and in the long run to be a top three Pac 10 team.
