October 12th; a day that is likely circled on most Oregon Ducks Football fans’ calendars due to Oregon’s game with Ohio State. The Big Ten conference matchup guarantees national attention, with a win for the currently ranked number three Ducks over the number two ranked Buckeyes paving the way to a potential national championship bout. This is arguably the biggest regular season game this year for college football.
And not only is this battle between two college football superpowers monumental, it’s personal to the programs. Ohio State lost to Oregon in 2021 on their home turf, 35-28. Even more prominent, Ohio State now has a new offensive coordinator, and he’s very familiar with the Oregon Ducks.
Former Oregon coach Chip Kelly is currently reinventing the Buckeye offense with Ohio State coach Ryan Day. Kelly is the former offensive coordinator turned head coach for the Ducks that completely reinvented the way offenses were run in college football. Earning his Duck coaching wings in 2007, Kelly pioneered an offense built on speed and explosive running that utterly confused defenses. Rumors are he’s trying to reinvent his schemes again for the Buckeyes.
Now, in an exclusive interview with Oregon Ducks on Sports Illustrated’s and KOIN 6’s Ally Osborne, two of Kelly’s former players are giving their thoughts on the coach’s return to his offensive play calling routes. Jonathan Stewart and Kenjon Barner were both key running backs in Kelly’s schemes. Stewart and Barner, who now host the “Ducks of a Feather Podcast” coming out this Friday, August 30th, have quite a bit to say about the upcoming game and their former coach.
“I love it. I love it,” Barner said. “You know, Chip's legacy is solidified at Oregon. What he did at Oregon in that time frame, it had never been done before. The amount of games that he won. How the fashion with Chip is. He is an Oregon legend, so I expect Chip to go out there and be Chip. I think he's in a spot where he has a level of talent around him that he can now put in place like he's accustomed to doing.”
“I think it's fitting. I think he's gone through a phase in his life where he's tried some things and he's been dominant in things and he's had some hardships. And I think it's kind of like a full circle moment for him of knowing exactly where he is and coaching. And that's a dangerous place for a lot of people,” Stewart said.
Stewart in particular is quite familiar with Kelly’s experimental days at Oregon. Many may remember Stewart was the first running back to implement the Kelly “Statue of Liberty” play versus Michigan in Ann Arbor in 2007. In the play, former Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon pump fakes the ball, then passes to Stewart behind his back for a 20 yard outside run. The Ducks end up faking another Statue of Liberty play down the line, which led to a Dixon touchdown and overall winning the game versus Michigan 39 to 7. Funny enough, Oregon plays Michigan in Ann Arbor for the first time since that game this year on November 2nd.
“Yeah, those are plays that you gotta see in movies, backyard football, and you're like, ‘That will never work in a game,’ maybe like a high school game. On the national level like that, the guts to go on to Ann Arbor and call that play. It was a testament to who we really were and just the amount of trust he had in his players,” Stewart said. “We were prepared. We ran that play like every practice, just about. And it was just always like, hey, practice like you want to run it. You never know when you have to run it. And sometimes with those plays you can get goofy and just kind of, you know, go through the motions and whatnot. But he called that play and it worked to perfection.”
Now that Kelly is back to crafting plays for strictly the Ohio State offense, Stewart thinks he’ll be a menace to teams that face the Buckeyes this year.
“They have to face him because he doesn't have to question anything about what he's doing,” Stewart said. “He knows what he's about, where he wants to be, and where he chooses to be, which is calling plays. So Chip Kelly, with that much time and that type of energy, not chasing anything besides wins and drawing things up that no one's ever seen before - that's dangerous.”
According to Barner, he’s pretty confident in this matchup at Autzen.
“I expect big things from Chip, but I also expect them to lose when they play in Eugene,” Barner said.
You can catch the Ducks of a Feather Podcast with Barner and Stewart hosting this Friday, August 30th on all podcast platforms. Their first guest is a big surprise, but the two former Ducks say it’ll be someone the fans will love to hear from.
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