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The Oregon Ducks‘ 2025 football season came to a close over two weeks ago, but the Ohio State Buckeyes, the team that knocked Oregon out after a rout in the Rose Bowl, still have a game to play. On Monday, the Buckeyes will take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the National Championship Game.
Although Oregon is far away in the Buckeyes’ rearview mirror, Ohio State offensive coordinator and former Ducks’ head coach Chip Kelly mentioned Oregon to the media leading up to the national championship.
“I’ll tell you what, it was a unique message with our players, you can’t stop us with 11, you had to stop us with 12,” Kelly said. “You saw the final results of 11 vs. 11. So that was a message to our team for the week leading up to the Rose Bowl that I think resonated really well with our guys.”
Kelly’s statement refers to the intentional illegal substitution Oregon incurred to run the clock at the end of the Ducks-Buckeyes regular season matchup. With seconds to play, Dan Lanning put 12 defenders on the field to prevent a big gain by the Ohio State offense. A 5-yard penalty was a small price to pay for precious seconds coming off the clock.
Although the Ducks played 12 against 11 for one play in October, they played nearly 140 snaps 11 vs. 11. That play was a pivotal moment in the game, but it is shortsighted to boil Oregon’s victory down to that moment.
Still, Kelly’s message had the intended effect. Ohio State played leagues above Oregon in the Rose Bowl, and every step they’ve taken to the National Championship game has been earned. Whether they’ll be crowned champions on Monday night remains to be seen, but regardless, it’s been an impressive year for the Buckeyes.
The Ducks don’t have the Buckeyes on their regular season schedule next fall, but the two teams are projected to be the pride…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/former-oregon-hc-ohio-state-142039905.html
Author : Ducks Wire
Publish date : 2025-01-19 14:20:00
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