High expectations followed first-year head coach Chip Kelly as the Ducks entered fall camp ranked No. 16 in the nation. But it didn’t take that long for those expectations to fall to the ground, as Oregon dropped its opening game on national television to the No. 14 Boise State Broncos 19-8.
The more notable news from that game, however, came in the form of a punch thrown by Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount to the jaw of Boise State linebacker Byron Hout. This started a tirade from Blount that was splashed all over ESPN and every other national sports outlet, and the next day Kelly suspended Blount indefinitely. That suspension lasted a month, as Kelly revisited it at the start of October, saying that if Blount met academic and behavioral goals laid out for him, he could again play for Oregon.
Blount made appearances in the last two games of the season, though the specifics of his rehabilitation plan were never released.
The season-opening loss to Boise State sparked Oregon into a seven-game win streak. The Ducks beat Purdue and Utah at home — albeit without much of an offense — and entered the first Pac-10 game of the season against No. 6 Cal as the decisive underdogs. Instead, it was Oregon’s coming-out party, as the Ducks won 42-3, and the Ducks reeled off wins against Washington State, UCLA, Washington and No. 4 USC on Halloween night
in Eugene.
Oregon hit a road bump in a heartbreaking loss to the Stanford Cardinal after the win against the Trojans, but the team righted the ship, ending the season with ab37-33 win over No. 13 Oregon State to punch a ticket to the Rose Bowl. It was the first time since 1995 that the Ducks would play in the Granddaddy of Them All.
Unfortunately for the Ducks, the Jan. 1 game against the Ohio State Buckeyes didn’t go in their favor. Led by quarterback phenom Terrelle Pryor — who chose Ohio State over Oregon in recruiting — the Buckeyes won 26-17. Despite the loss, the Bowl Championship Series berth put Oregon on the map, leading to even higher expectations for the 2010 season.
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Blount force drama
Daily Emerald
June 3, 2010
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