Before the University announced the succession plan for Chip Kelly to succeed Mike Bellotti as head football coach and Bellotti to succeed Pat Kilkenny as director of athletics “sometime in the foreseeable future,” many of the coaches were already in airports headed around the country on recruiting.
Amid the succession plan and Oregon’s 65-38 win over rival No. 25 Oregon State on Saturday, Bellotti said seven assistants were on the road until Friday, when players and coaches will return for practice. Bellotti said he was in Phoenix, Ariz., on Tuesday, headed for Wichita, Kan., and Minneapolis, Minn., later in the week.
Kelly said he was recruiting in Florida.
Head coach Mike Bellotti ranked the Civil War win as possibly the most satisfying in his career.
“It’s probably the most, I can say that now,” Bellotti said Sunday night during his teleconference. “It’s probably one of the most satisfying games; certainly the most satisfying Civil War for me personally.”
Oregon players won’t be nearly as busy as their coaches this week, with no practice until Friday. The players will check in and do weight lifting sessions, but there are no formal practices until the end of the week.
Despite the announcement surrounding the head coaching position, Bellotti said his immediate plan is “business as usual.”
When they get back, they still likely won’t have any idea who they are playing in their bowl game. That decision is expected to come after the finish of the USC and UCLA game this Saturday. As the second-place team in the conference, the Ducks are expecting to receive a bid from the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, Calif., played Dec. 30, should USC beat UCLA and win the league title, which automatically secures the Trojans a Rose Bowl berth.
Should UCLA win, Oregon State, Oregon and USC will all be tied with two conference losses. All the teams will have a 1-1 record against the other two teams, which sends it to another tiebreaker: how they did against the Pac-10’s next best team, which is California.
Oregon is the only one of the three to lose to Cal, eliminating them, and Oregon State would again win the tiebreaker then because of its head-to-head win over USC.
The plan can be complicated, but Bellotti said he is operating under the assumption the Ducks would be in San Diego.
“It certainly seems like the most viable option,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything official out there at this point and I don’t think there will be after the USC/UCLA game.”
His praise for sophomore quarterback Jeremiah Masoli and the entire offense was equally to the point.
“Jeremiah’s Masoli’s progress certainly is – I won’t say the stuff of legends – it’s just an amazing thing for a first-time player in the program at the quarterback position to do what he’s done and accomplished,” Bellotti said.
The adoration for the offense didn’t hide three areas of “unacceptable” play for Bellotti on defense and special teams.
The coach specifically cited special teams coverage on punt and kickoff returns, third-down defense and penalties. The Ducks allowed Oregon State to convert 8-of-16 third downs and were penalized a season-high 15 times for 129 yards. On special teams, OSU punt returner Sammie Stroughter took a punt back 55 yards, while James Rodgers had a 40-yard kickoff return and Patrick Henderson’s longest return of the day went for 45 yards.
Even with the delay until the next practice, Bellotti said the team will address all three concerns as soon as possible.
“Coverage on special teams was absolutely unacceptable,” Bellotti said. “We knew going in that we were going to be challenged.
“That could be a huge emphasis point over the bowl preparation.”
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