The Kamikaze Kid

It's been over fourteen years since Chip left to coach in the NFL. After a few unsuccessful head coaching stops he went back to what has always been his natural calling as an Offensive Coordinator. After a few years back at OC, it looks like this is what he wants to do at this point. Up until now I always scoffed at the idea of bringing him back both because I thought he'd bolt at the first chance to move up to head coach and also the power struggle he could create being one of the most successful coaches in UO history. But as he seems to be settling in with OC contentment, these concerns have faded with me. Also after so many years of coaching different teams with different personnel types, he seems comfortable with changing his plan to match his players rather than forcing the players to match his plan. Watching Northwestern's offense come to life with him in charge, has been highly entertaining. Chip always talks fondly of his time with the Ducks. His lack of enthusiasm for recruiting could be off set by the emergence of GMs and NIL. It seems like this would be a win win type of situation. Probably will never happen but it also kind of seems like it should. Thoughts?

Upon further review, here's my Big Ten tier list after week 5. A Tier: tOSU, Indiana Notes: Tearing apart teams before half is what you expect from A tier. No surprises here. IU's close game with NorthWestern says more about the Wildcats than the Hoosiers. B Tier: OBD, UCLA, NorthWestern Notes: OBD have some work to do before moving up. The Wild Cats look like the third best team in the BIG so far. C Tier: Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin Notes: Should beat anyone below them. Should lose to anyone above them. Just what you'd expect from C tier. D Tier: USC, Purdue, Michigan Notes: SUC's two barely wins against the so what tier barely move them up. I might be being generous with Michigan's placement here. So What Tier: Penn St, Washington, Illinois, Maryland MSU, Rutgers Notes: So what?

USC had two great two handed touches against the husky receiver. Unfortunately this is tackle football and that was a 50 yard touchdown instead. Maybe SUC should take up flag football.

Fuskies kill their own drive with a clownish fumbled snap and sack. SUC brings the drive back to life with a face mask for the first down. The ineptitude has been glorious.

Two offensive plays in a row lead to two interceptions. Michigan plays Santa gifting Minnesota 10 points and handing them a 20-14 lead.

Michigan is struggling with a struggling Minnesota team in a battle of who wants it less. Wolverines lead 14-13 in the 4th.

Michigan is looking pretty underwhelming against Minnesota. A red zone pick six saves them just before half 14-7. Wisconsin is taking it to the perpetually underwhelming MSU 17-3 at the half.

One team humiliates themselves today. The other merely delays the inevitable another week.

Week Five in the BiG Michigan 0-1 at Minnesota 1-0 MSU 0-1 at Wisconsin 1-0 5 tOSU 1-0 at 14 Iowa 1-0 Maryland 0-1 at Nebraska 1-0 Purdue 01 at Illinois 0-1 Washington 01 at 18 USC 1-1 6 Indiana 1-0 at Rutgers 0-1 Friday Penn ST 0-2 13 NorthWestern 1-1 34

For anybody interested in a quick recap.

34-13 final. I'd say the Wildcats are the third best team in the BIG right now behind tOSU and Indiana. With that run game, they'll be a problem for anyone they face including the Ducks.

NorthWestern rolls to over 400 yards rushing on a drive ending in a field goal late. They now lead 34-13.

Penn St sees their comeback take a terrible turn as a TD is followed with a horrible pass in the dirt to a wide open receiver on a failed two point conversion. NorthWestern now leads 31-13.

Another TD makes it 31-7 heading into the 4th. This team looks legit and will give the Ducks trouble. Expect them to be ranked next week.

Right now they lead Penn St 24-7 in the third quarter. Chip Kelly has another offense looking dangerous. This team is 3-1 taking Indiana down to wire in their only loss.

I think the Ducks defense is still a work in progress but playing three ranked teams (two on the road) all with good offenses probably has something to do with it. Has any other top 25 team played three other top 25 teams that are still currently ranked? After next Saturday it will be four teams. Just something to factor in while trying to understand this team. I also don't think that FCS games should count in statistics.

SUC vs Fuskies One of these two teams goes up in flames this weekend as another”This is THE year!” Is torched in the first week of October. On one hand watching the current fire in LA go full on Chernobyl is almost too glorious not to root for. The only thing that would concern me is that a full on China syndrome in LA could lead to a hasty departure for Riley. Since he’s the gift that keeps on giving, I’d prefer that he stick around. On the other hand, any day the Purple Pups take another L is a great day in my universe. On the other hand, most of their fan base has already given up on this year so I don’t see a loss this weekend having the same effect as one down the road after they start believing again. I will enjoy watching either one lose but I think SC has many more losses coming on the horizon so one this weekend wouldn’t matter that much in the end. I vote fusky L.

The last time SUC beat the Ducks was 2016 when everybody beat the Ducks. The time before that required a missed 38 yard field goal at the end of the game. The time before that, your talking the Pete Carrol days nearly twenty years ago. WSU has better recent history against OBD than the Fighting Juice Boxes.

Things Riley claimed to not see after the hit. The hit. The player prancing around like a fool in the endzone after the hit. The player high fiving and still acting like a fool on the side line. Any video of all three above right after the game during media availability. Also had zero intent to punish the player at that time. With unaccountable leadership like that, I'd feel better giving the job to a juice box. As for his offensive philosophy, I think his dispirpotionate preference for passing over running will never work against top level competition which is reflected in his .333 winning percentage against the top 25. Hard pass.

He should put this on his LA recruiting shirt.

In the last 15 years, OBD is 5-1 in LA for an .833 win percentage. Can SUC say the same?

I fixed the link.

Riley is turning the SUC program around on his own timeline. I say give him another five years to finish the job. If that doesn't do it then give him another five years.

Great article David. After that hit, Dante will always be a Duck legend and deserves much love and respect. Raiola on the other hand, has that it factor that I've been saying is lacking with Moore. There's a reason the offense could never get out of second gear in Stillwater and the first twenty minutes of the game in LA. When every play is either a run or a checkdown pass or some type of screen, the D is always bunched up by the line and several defenders will always be near by to make a play. With the offense having a more and more difficult time moving the ball, they then get even more cautious which just makes things worse. When the field opens up, defenders get put on islands having to deal with elite play makers one on one in space. Another benefit is that the check down plays become truly dangerous as the D has already been spread out and few defenders are available to stop them. That's why Moore's cautious style stagnates the offense while Raiola looks more like the Duck legends of the past. Again I hope Dante makes a full recovery and have nothing but appreciation for the guy but if the Ducks want to reach max potential this year then Raiola is the guy.

After the dust settled on a crazy weekend of Duck football, here are a few observations I've made. Donte Moore escaping that ruthless hit with "only" a concussion is a miner miracle. I hope he makes a full recovery. Raiola is clearly the QB1 the Ducks need. The offense came to life the moment he walked on the field and everybody saw it. Score pre Raiola: USC 7 OBD 3. After Raiola OBD 38 SUC 20. Again, Raiola is that guy. Holding SUC to 27 points on their home field shows they have the potential to hold anybody in the twenties which should be enough against anybody. After the hit, the Ducks had their metal tested and they rose to the challenge. A sign of growth since Stillwater. Lanning kicking a field goal at the end of the half instead of going for it, another sign of growth. The D getting 4th Quarter stops against a good offense on the road, another sign of growth. The offense came to life when the down field threats became real. Check downs became real threats when the D was spread out. Jamarie Johnson is a problem. If the O line can give just enough, it's more than enough and that works for me.