Oregon Ducks Taking Flight Preview

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The Chip Kelly Era Seasons: 2009-2012 » Overall Record: 46-7

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hen Chip Kelly left Oregon to coach the Philadelphia Eagles on Jan. 16, 2013, he did it with his offense’s trademark trickery and speed, defying earlier reports of his intention to return for a fifth season and pouncing on a job before any media could link him to it.

But the Kelly years might be the clearest era of Oregon football to define — a win-speckled showcase of brains, balls and BCS bowls.

The road that led the New Hampshire native to the West Coast is one full of twists and turns, luck and Kelly’s own brand of risk.

In 2003, Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti knew he was going to have his hands full with Utah’s Alex Smith.

The future No. 1 NFL draft pick was making just his third career start for head coach Urban Meyer against No. 25 Oregon. Meyer opened the playbook for Smith that night at Rice-Eccles Stadium, who responded with 340 yards on 25 completions en route to a 17-13 Utah win.

“I knew their offense would be problematic for us,” Mike Bellotti said after the game.

Utah’s offense that night? A crude version of the spread offense Meyer would later perfect with Tim Tebow in Florida.

Intrigued, Bellotti sent coaches to talk to Meyer. “‘The guy who really knows this stuff is Chip Kelly up at the Opposite: Head coach Chip Kelly leads his

team onto the field before a showdown with Washington in 2010. T he Emerald

University of New Hampshire,’” Oregon booster and Nike cofounder Phil Knight recalls Florida saying. “Chip always had an answer.”

In Kelly’s first year on the staff, the Ducks led the Pac-10 in scoring (38.1 points per game) and total offense (467.5 yards per game, the most in the history of the program).

“Make no mistake about it,” Kelly told The Arizona Republic during the Ducks’ run to the title game in 2011. “I didn’t take over a program that was down in the dumps. The cupboards weren’t bare when I became the head coach.”

Much of his success had to do with the culture he instilled soon after joining the team in February of 2007 as Oregon’s offensive coordinator.

It was then the ubiquitous “Win The Day” motto originated, gaining traction among players and coaches who gradually bought into the idea.

“To me, it means you take care of what you can control, and what we can control is today,” Kelly said.

“I think people too often look way down the road — you know, ‘I want to do this, I want to do that, I want to be conference champion, national champion.’ If you don’t take care of Tuesday, that’s not going to happen.”

When Bellotti left the sidelines to take over for a short-lived stint as Oregon’s athletic director in 2009, there wasn’t much discussion over who would succeed him. It was Kelly’s job to lose, and as fans know, Kelly rarely loses.

And all along the way, throughout the uphill climb to national contender, Knight and Nike infused the program with money, one-of-a-

kind jerseys and hype.

All Kelly had to do was deliver.

The new-look program’s speed, electricity and penchant for sieging the scoreboard drew viewers from across the country — some of them talented high school football players. Kelly’s riskaholic playcalling featured fourth-down and two-point conversions, trick plays and unconventional, exciting new wrinkles to a game steeped in tradition.

And oh, those uniforms. Nike sprung for new threads every game, giving the Ducks a revolving carousel of greens, yellows, blacks and whites never seen before.

“I loved the uniforms,” one potential Duck told reporters before the 2010 Rose Bowl. “And then I got to know more about Oregon, and I love the offense.”

That recruit, LaMichael James, would become Oregon’s first Heisman finalist in nearly a decade, and although James and the Ducks lost the national championship in 2010 to Auburn, the school’s exposure in college football’s biggest game led to UO applications rising 30 percent.

“Our guys know how to respond to adversity,” Kelly said after losing to LSU to begin the 2011 season. “To be the best you have to beat the best.”

The result? Nine-straight wins before a stomach-punch loss to USC on a chilly November night at Autzen.

The hiccup derailed late-blooming title game plans, and the team’s subsequent Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin felt a little hollow. Yet

Kelly silenced the critics who said he couldn’t win a big game.

Dumping the Badgers also earned Kelly something else — NFL attention. For 36 hours in midJanuary, Kelly nearly accepted the head coaching job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before deciding to stay in Eugene for another year of dominance.

Ten straight wins in 2012 had Oregon again flirting with a title before losing to Stanford. Still, the Ducks secured an unprecedented fourth-straight BCS bowl game.

The 2013 Fiesta Bowl win served as a proper swan song. Inevitability pervaded Phoenix, a wistful acknowledgement that it was time for both sides to mutually move on.

No one was surprised when the NFL again clamored for his attention, this time successfully as Kelly took the head coaching job with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Charles Kelly left behind the greatest four years in program history marked by his own indelible brand. They say it never rains, but Oregon fans will never forget the four short, unforgettable years Chip Kelly reigned at Autzen Stadium.

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2009

A Roller-coaster ride to Roses Record: 10-3 (8-1 Pac-10) » Coach: Chip Kelly (1st year) » Final AP Ranking: No. 11

A record streak of wins begins to redefine success for Oregon football

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he preseason No. 11 Ducks were out to reload, not rebuild, under new head coach Chip

Kelly.

With a coveted regional preseason Sports Illustrated cover, sleek new jerseys and a one-two punch of reigning Holiday Bowl MVP Jeremiah Masoli and bruising tailback LeGarrette Blount, Oregon

appeared ready to break through.

Instead, in the season opener on the blue turf of then-No. 14 Boise State, the Ducks broke down. The Broncos held Blount, fresh off a team-record 17 single-season rushing touchdowns, to a shocking -5 rushing yards and raced out to a 19-0 lead before Oregon added a meaningless cosmetic score.

After the game, Boise State linebacker Byron Hout found Blount at midfield and taunted him. The running back responded with a haymaker, dropping Hout to the

PLAYER PROFILE J o h n B oye t t , safe t y

Although John Boyett would later amass one of the more complete careers of any Oregon defensive back, it was his redshirt freshman year that established him as a Freshman All-American and one of the team’s most trusted leaders. When safety T.J. Ward suffered an injury in the first week of the season, the Napa, Calif., native responded by leading Oregon with 90 tackles, the first time a freshman had paced the squad since the school started keeping complete defensive records in 1969. Boyett finished second on the team with three picks and saved his best performance for last, recording a then-career-high 12 tackles in the Ducks’ Rose Bowl loss to the Buckeyes.

turf and inciting chaos on national television. In the ensuing mess, Blount got mixed up with Boise State fans.

Analysts questioned whether 45-year-old Kelly could handle his team. One fan requested a refund for his game ticket, which the first-year coach famously granted. Kelly also brought a season-long suspension over his tailback, giving the job to a little-known redshirt freshman named LaMichael James. Fans would soon learn his name, as James amassed more than 1,500 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns in his debut season.

Slowly, the team began to gel.

Another youngster, safety John Boyett, clinched two straight games for Oregon, first breaking up a

potentially game-tying two-point conversion against Purdue, then picking off Utah’s Terrance Cain late to help Oregon break Utah’s nationleading 16-game winning streak.

Masoli cleaned up his play, too, as over a four-game span in September and October, Oregon thrashed four Pac-10 teams by an average score of 40.25 to 9.5. No. 4 USC and ESPN College GameDay came to Autzen Halloween night, but filled

Opposite: After dismantling two ranked

opponents, the Ducks shredded Washington State 52-6. T he Emerald

Left: L inebacker Kenny Rowe helped anchor a defense that was instrumental in Oregon’s return to the Rose Bowl. The Emerald

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with confidence and a return to the nation’s top 10, the Ducks made a statement by giving the Trojans their worst loss since 1997.

The ecstasy soon gave way to agony when Stanford’s Toby Gerhart rushed for 223 yards and three touchdowns the next week, almost single-handedly knocking Oregon out of national talk. An outright conference title remained in reach, however, for both Oregon and Arizona, who conveniently played each other two weeks after.

In an instantly legendary matchup, Arizona looked to have the upset in hand, up seven points with seconds to go. Even Arizona’s student section climbed down from the stands, ready to charge the field and celebrate the upset. But Masoli found senior tight end Ed Dickson in the back of the endzone, and backup quarterback Nate Costa righted an errant snap on the extra point to send the game to overtime. After trading blows, Masoli scampered into the endzone in the second overtime to give Oregon its most dramatic win in years.

Now the Ducks stood just one Civil War win from a Pac-10 title and their first Rose Bowl berth in 15 years. In a perfect metaphor for the situation, Masoli bowled over Oregon State

Top right: Q uarterback Jeremiah Masoli’s. talents proved a good fit for head coach Chip Kelly’s spread offense. The Emerald Right: The Ducks won a Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl berth for the first time in the same year since 1994. The Emerald Opposite top left: During the Civil War, Oregon wore jerseys that harkened back to Akili Smith and the 1998 Ducks. The Emerald Opposite top right: The Duck had roses on hand for Oregon’s Civil War victory that guaranteed a trip to Pasadena. The Emerald Opposite left: Oregon posted a perfect home record in 2009. The Emerald

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safety Lance Mitchell for an iconic late fourth-down conversion to help secure history.

Waiting in Pasadena were the Ohio State Buckeyes, led by Terrelle Pryor, a slash-and-burn quarterback who briefly considered attending Oregon. The match seesawed, and the Ducks even held the lead with seven minutes to play in the third quarter. But despite 22 combined tackles by safeties Boyett and T.J. Ward, and three timely sacks by junior wrecking ball Kenny Rowe, time ran out on Masoli’s struggling offense. Oregon’s fifth time in the Rose Bowl would end in disappointment as Ohio State won, and Oregon finished right where it started — No. 11.

2009 schedule DATE

OPPONENT

Result

9/3

@ No. 14 Boise State

L (19-8)

9/12

Purdue

W (38-36)

9/19

No 18 Utah

W (31-24)

9/26

No. 6 California

W (42-3)

10/3

Washington State

W (52-6)

10/10

@ UCLA

W (24-10)

10/24

@ Washington

W (43-19)

10/31

No. 4 USC

W (47-20)

11/7

@ Stanford

L (51-42)

11/14

Arizona State

W (44-21)

11/21

@ Arizona

W (44-41)

12/3

No. 13 Oregon State

W (37-33)

1/1

No. 8 Ohio State

L (26-17)

2 0 0 9 S tat s Passing Player

Cmp/Att (%)

Yds

TD

INT

Jeremiah Masoli

177/305 (58.0)

2147

15

6

Nate Costa

20/33 (60.6)

197

1

1

Rushing Player

LaMichael James

Att

Yds

Avg

TD

230

1546

6.7

14

Jeremiah Masoli

121

668

5.5

13

Kenjon Barner

61

366

6

3

Receiving Player

Jeff Maehl

Rec

Yds

Avg

TD

53

696

13.1

6

Ed Dickson

42

551

13.1

6

D.J. Davis

23

233

10.1

2

Defensive Player

John Boyett

Tkl

Sk

INT

FF

90

0

3

0

Casey Matthews

81

3

1

0

Spencer Paysinger

81

1.5

0

0

Javes Lewis

78

2

2

3

101

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2010

A perfect season marred by inches Record: 12-1 (9-0 Pac-10) » Coach: Chip Kelly (2nd year) » Final AP Ranking: No.3

Led by LaMichael James’ heroics, Oregon cruised to 12-0 before running aground against Auburn

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hat finished as the greatest season in Oregon football history began under inauspicious circumstances when starting quarterback Jeremiah Masoli pled guilty to second-degree burglary in March.

That same month, running back LaMichael James and kicker Rob Beard pled guilty to harassment, leading to one-game suspensions, and Masoli’s situation reached a breaking point in June when further trouble led to his dismissal from the team.

Into his spot stepped Darron Thomas, a rangy dual-threat sophomore from Houston, Texas.

Together, James and Thomas would assail nearly all of Oregon’s modernera offensive records.

Rising above early distractions, Oregon sandwiched a dominant win over Tennessee in SEC country between historic blowouts over Football Bowl Subdivision teams.

Against Arizona State, Oregon’s defense snatched four interceptions in 100-degree heat. Next, No. 4 Oregon erased an 18-point deficit to crush Stanford in front of an Autzen night audience. For an encore, the Ducks’ defense racked up 12

tackles for a loss, led by defensive end Brandon Bair’s 3.5, in a win at Washington State.

Behind the nation’s best offense, Oregon was 6-0 and No. 1 for the first time in history.

With America watching, the top-ranked Ducks hosted UCLA following their bye week. Now seasoned, Thomas aired it out for a career-high 308 yards and three touchdowns in a lop-sided win.

James’ 123 rushing yards also tied the school record for most 100-yard games (14).

A date with USC loomed ahead, but in front of 88,726 in crimson and gold, Jeff Maehl caught a trifecta of touchdowns, and James — the fastest Duck to 1,000 career rushing yards — rushed for 239 yards and three touchdowns on a career-high 36 carries.

“That offense is a lot better than a lot of people thought,” USC defensive end Wes Horton lamented to the Los Angeles Times.

Even when Thomas & Co. failed to get going against Washington, the defense picked up the slack. Five separate Ducks recorded sacks in

another home win.

Oregon then ran into an unlikely roadblock in a 5-4 California team.

The upset-minded Bears held Oregon to a season-low 317 yards. It took sophomore Cliff Harris’ record fourth punt return touchdown of the season to preserve a perfect 10-0 record.

Steamrolling No. 20 Arizona locked up the Pac-12 title, but outside of Oregon’s control, Auburn jumped to No. 1 in national polling.

No matter. Oregon crushed Oregon State to secure its first-ever perfect regular season.

As the sun set over Reser Stadium, the Ducks burst open a bag of Tostitos chips, the National Championship sponsor. For the first time, Oregon would play for it all.

Despite Sports Illustrated warning America to “prepare for a shootout,” the 2011 BCS National Championship showcased what happens when an unstoppable force meets an

Opposite: Running back LaMichael James

rushed for the most yards in the country en route to winning the Doak Walker Award. T he Emerald

Right: Th e Ducks’ 69-0 win over Portland State amounted to little more than a glorified scrimmage. The Emerald

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PLAYER PROFILE J eff Mae h l , w ide recei v er

A vital cog in the Oregon scoring machine, the shifty 6-foot-1 wideout from Paradise, Calif., shredded the program’s record books as a senior. Providing balance to All-American tailback LaMichael James, Jeff Maehl proved himself indispensable in conference play by scoring in a school record nine-straight Pac-10 games. Maehl’s consistently excellent footwork and ability to get into open space helped him exactly match Samie Parker’s program records for career receptions (178) and receptions in a season (77). “Air Maehl” didn’t shrink from the spotlight, either. His 81-yard grab in the BCS Championship Game stands as the longest reception in BCS history. Unsurprisingly, Maehl’s efforts earned him first-team Pac10 honors and the Cargill Award, awarded to the team’s top impact player as voted by his Oregon teammates.

immovable object. James and the Ducks managed just 75 rushing yards against the massive Tigers’ defensive line. Yet senior linebacker Casey Matthews kept Oregon in it when he forced a late fumble, and Oregon scored eight plays later to tie the game.

Then, the play that will live in infamy for Ducks fans forever.

Auburn running back Michael Dyer defied gravity during a tackle, maintaining his balance to sprint 37 yards into Oregon’s redzone and set up Wes Byrum’s championshipwinning field goal.

After a magical ride to the top of the college football world, Oregon had finally been stopped. Auburn 22, Oregon 19.

Meanwhile, James’ historic stats paid huge dividends: 1,731 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns, both school records; unanimous

All-American, another Oregon first; AT&T All-American Player of the Year; Doak Walker Award for nation’s best running back. James also finished third in Heisman voting behind Auburn’s Cam Newton and Stanford’s Andrew Luck, both of whom would end up No. 1 overall NFL draft picks.

“Coach Kelly puts me in great positions to excel, so why shouldn’t I excel?” James’ answer was the secret to his success.

He wasn’t the only one bestowing praise on Kelly.

The second-year head coach swept coach of the year awards, winning his second-straight Pac-10 Coach of the Year, and adding the AP, Walter Camp Foundation, Football Writers Association of America and Sporting News Coach of the Year awards.

Right: Q uarterback Darron Thomas challenged nearly every program passing record during his time in Eugene. The Emerald

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Left: Wideout D.J. Davis flourished as opponents double-teamed his fellow receiver Jeff Maehl. The Emerald Bottom left: R unning back LaMichael James’ 21 rushing touchdowns broke the program’s single-season record. T he Emerald Below: A demolition of Washington was just one of Oregon’s 12 regular-season wins. T he Emerald

2 0 1 0 S tat s Passing Player

2010 schedule

Cmp/Att (%)

Yds

TD

INT

DATE

OPPONENT

Result

Darron Thomas

222/361 (61.5)

2881

30

9

9/4

New Mexico

W (72 - 0)

Nate Costa

25/33 (75.8)

286

1

0

9/11

@ Tennessee

W (48 - 13)

Att

Yds

Avg

TD

294

1731

5.9

21

Rushing Player

LaMichael James Darron Thomas

93

486

5.2

5

Kenjon Barner

91

551

6.1

6

Rec

Yds

Avg

TD

Receiving Player

Jeff Maehl

77

1076

14

12

D.J. Davis

42

470

11.2

3

Lavasier Tuinei

36

396

11

2

Tkl

Sk

INT

FF

Casey Matthews

79

3

3

1

John Boyett

78

0

5

Spencer Baysinger

76

3

0

Defensive Player

Talmadge Jackson III

70

0

2

9/18

Portland State

W (69 - 0)

9/25

@ Arizona State

W (42 - 31)

10/2

No. 9 Stanford

W (52 - 31)

10/9

@ Washington State

W (43 - 23)

10/21

UCLA

W (60 - 13)

10/31

@ No. 24 USC

W (53 - 32)

11/6

Washington

W (53 - 16)

11/13

@ California

W (15 - 13)

11/26

No. 20 Arizona

W (48 - 29)

1

12/4

@ Oregon St.

W (37 - 20)

1

1/10

No. 1 Auburn

L (22 - 19)

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Above: The Ducks were rarely tripped up throughout the season. A 69-0 destruction of Portland State didn’t even register as the team’s biggest blowout win of the year. The Emerald Top right: The Duck surfs among the Autzen faithful during Oregon’s win over Portland State.

The Emerald Bottom right: O regon found the endzone

a staggering nine times against the Vikings.

T he Emerald

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Left: Wide receiver Jeff Maehl hauls in a tough catch over a Portland State defender.

The Emerald Bottom left: O regon’s 72-0 win over New

Mexico set program records for largest victory and most points in a game. T he Emerald

Below: Here the Ducks prepare to kickoff after one of their many scores against New Mexico.

T he Emerald

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2011

BCS glory, 95 years in the making Record: 12-2 (9-1 Pac-12) » Coach: Chip Kelly (3rd year) » Final AP Ranking: No. 4

James, Thomas led Oregon over the hump with record-breaking offensive seasons

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s if stakes weren’t high enough — especially after head coach Chip Kelly promised Oregon fans “we will be back” after the Ducks’ title game loss to Auburn — there would be no warm-up games

against FBS patsies entering the 2011 season.

Sporting the program’s highestever preseason ranking, the No. 3 Ducks traveled to colossal Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to play the No. 4 LSU Tigers, a team battle-tested in the nation’s toughest football conference.

Sickening déjá vu from the previous year’s BCS title game was felt by Ducks fans in the second half, when tailback LaMichael

James continually failed to find any seams in the Tigers’ physical defensive line. The reigning Doak Walker Award winner managed just 54 carries, forcing Darron Thomas to pass the ball a career-high 54 times. On the other side of the ball, Oregon allowed two different LSU running backs more than 95 yards, as the unit struggled to adjust to life without departed senior linebackers Spencer Paysinger and Casey Matthews. The result was the first lopsided loss in Kelly’s tenure.

Oregon’s swagger returned in the next few weeks, as Thomas established himself as one of the country’s most consistent and confident quarterbacks. By season’s end, the junior would break the career and single-season program records for passing touchdowns.

More importantly, he gave balance to an Oregon attack increasingly centered on the All-American James, who was busy breaking nearly every school rushing record en route to cementing a career as the best statistical running back to ever play for the Ducks.

One scary moment in Oregon’s

Left: The Ducks began 2011 against LSU in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The Emerald Opposite: After two straight years of BCS

disappointment, Oregon finally emerged victorious. The Emerald

blowout win over Cal showcased James’ most underrated trait: toughness. Near the goal line, the nation’s top rusher had the ball stripped and fell awkwardly, dislocating his elbow. The gruesome injury came after James had already recorded his third-straight 200-yard performance in just over one half of play, however, and the Texarkana, Texas native later told press he popped his elbow back into its joint by himself. He missed a pair of games with the injury.

After climbing back into the No. 6 spot, Oregon traveled to Palo Alto, where Stanford had grown its stadium grass long to ostensibly slow down Oregon’s bread-and-butter rushing attack.

Still, James bolted for 146 yards and a trio of scores. Elsewhere, Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck contributed a pair of interceptions, one to Boseko Lokombo for a gamesealing 40-yard pick-six.

For the third time in three years, Oregon had a shot at the national title, with USC coming to Eugene.

No. 4 Oregon’s secondary slumped out of the gate, as junior quarterback Matt Barkley fired four touchdown passes before the end of the third quarter to give the Trojans a 24-point advantage. The Ducks finally got the wake up call they needed from former USC commit De’Anthony Thomas. The Los Angeles native faked a reverse and found a seam on the ensuing kickoff 109

PLAYER PROFILE D e ’ A n t h o n y T h o m as , r u n n i n g bac k

No Duck in recent history has garnered more hype before donning an Oregon uniform than De’Anthony Thomas, the five-star recruit from Crenshaw High School. After passing on his hometown Trojans to play football and run track in Eugene, Thomas exploded onto the scene as a freshman, scoring 18 times — including two kickoff returns — and earning a share of the Pac-12’s Offensive Freshman of the Year award. The “Black Mamba” also set Rose Bowl records when he struck twice in Oregon’s win over Wisconsin. His final rushing statline? Two carries, 155 yards and two touchdowns.

for a 96-yard touchdown. Next, James and backup Kenjon Barner added short touchdown runs to cut the lead to three. Suddenly, with the ball again and mere seconds left, it appeared Oregon might force an unlikely overtime. But in the freezing cold, kicker Alejandro Maldonado’s 37-yard field goal sailed left.

The loss, Kelly’s first at home, snapped a 21-game win streak at Autzen and shut the door on any hopes for a second-straight trip to the BCS Championship Game.

After another Civil War blowout, Oregon hosted UCLA in the Pac-12’s inaugural title game. The Bruins, at 6-6, were gifted a spot in the game due to USC’s NCAA sanctions.

Despite Autzen’s big-time feel, James made the game a formality with another 219 yards and three touchdowns. Oregon’s defense also excelled, sacking UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince seven times.

With the win, Oregon returned

to Pasadena to face the Big-10 champion Wisconsin Badgers.

Elusive quarterback Russell Wilson and Doak Walker Award winner Montee Ball led a balanced Badgers attack that relied on the school’s characteristically excellent offensive line.

Both playing in their collegiate finales, Ball and James combined for 323 yards and two touchdowns as the team’s traded second-half scores. But a key forced fumble by cornerback Terrance Mitchell was recovered on the sidelines by Michael Clay to preserve Oregon’s win. For his 158 receiving yards and two touchdowns, wideout Lavasier Tuinei earned the offensive MVP honors in his final game in an Oregon jersey.

The program’s first Rose Bowl win in 95 years silenced critics who pointed out Kelly’s spotty record in big games: Oregon football could again call itself a BCS champion.

Above right: Running back De’Anthony Thomas scored 18 times as a true freshman, exciting fans with his game-breaking speed and agility. T he Emerald Right: A s a junior, quarterback Darron Thomas broke the program’s single-season and career records for touchdown passes. T he Emerald

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2011 schedule

Above: Defensive end Dion Jordan and the Oregon defense allowed 17 points or less on four occasions. The Emerald Right: B y completing 62 percent of his passes, Darron Thomas rated as one of the country’s most efficient quarterbacks. The Emerald Following left: C ornerback Brian Jackson and the rest of the No. 7 Ducks celebrate a win over No. 4 Stanford. T he Emerald Following right top: Running back LaMichael James won the Rose Bowl in his last game as an Oregon Duck. T he Emerald Following bottom middle: W ideout Lavasier Tuinei earned MVP honors with 158 yards and two touchdowns in the Rose Bowl.

T he Emerald Following bottom right: T ight end Colt Lyerla pumps up his teammates during Oregon’s Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin. The Emerald

DATE

OPPONENT

Result

9/3

No. 4 LSU

L (40 - 27)

9/10

Nevada

W (69 - 20)

9/17

Missouri State

W (56 - 7)

9/24

@ Arizona

W (56 - 31)

10/6

California

W (43 - 15)

10/15

No. 18 Arizona State

W (41 - 27)

10/22

@ Colorado

W (45 - 2)

10/29

Washington St.

W (43 - 28)

11/5

@ Washington

W (34 - 17)

11/12

@ No. 4 Stanford

W (53 - 30)

11/19

No. 18 USC

L (38 - 35)

11/26

Oregon State

W (49 - 21)

12/2

UCLA

W (49 - 31)

1/2

No. 9 Wisconsin

W (45 - 38)

2 0 1 1 S tat s Passing Player

Cmp/Att (%)

Yds

TD

INT

Darron Thomas

211/339 (62.2)

2761

33

7

Bryan Bennett

25/46 (54.3)

369

6

0

Att

Yds

Avg

TD

247

1805

7.3

18

Rushing Player

LaMichael James Kenjon Barner

152

939

6.2

11

Darron Thomas

56

206

3.7

3

Receiving Player

De'Anthony Thomas

Rec

Yds

Avg

TD

46

605

13.2

9

Lavasier Tuinei

48

599

12.5

10

David Paulson

31

438

14.1

6

Defensive Player

John Boyett

Tkl

Sk

INT

FF

108

0.5

1

0

Michael Clay

102

3

2

2

Dewitt Stuckey

69

3

1

0

Eddie Pleasant

61

1

3

0

111

112

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