Masoli suspension earns Chip Kelly world of respect

Chip Kelly has it all wrong.

This is 2010, coach! It’s the golden age for lies, cheating, violations, and keeping players on the field no matter what.

You have a team in your very conference that won seven straight league titles, and even they might be bending the rules.

News flash: Chip Kelly has it all right.

The second-year Oregon Ducks’ head coach suspended quarterback Jeremiah Masoli for the season Friday, after Masoli pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor burglary charge.

It’s the second time in as many years that Kelly has been faced with a suspension of his star player.

If anyone reading this suffers from chronic amnesia, Kelly suspended LeGarrette Blount for what amounted to 10 games for sucker punching a Boise State player after the Ducks’ 19-8 loss in the 2009 season opener.

Kelly doesn’t care that this is an era where only 11 years ago, Florida State neglected to suspend star wideout Peter Warrick after he pleaded guilty to robbing a department store. It just so happened that the Seminoles were in the midst of a national championship run.

Oregon clearly has players in its system right now that are out to deface the program. Is this Kelly’s fault? Not entirely. While he was a part of the coaching staff before taking over as head coach, it was Mike Belotti who recruited Masoli, Blount and LaMichael James, the starting tailback who police arrested two weeks ago on domestic violence charges.

Should Kelly be keeping a closer eye on his players, and try to lead them in a better direction (preferably one that steers clear of Eugene Prison)? Absolutely, but you can only do so much. Every team deals with this problem.

Urban Meyer is famous for giving players second and third chances. From Marty Johnson at Utah to Marcus Thomas at Florida, Meyer penalizes his players for their actions before giving them back the gift of playing football.

The suspension of Masoli shows that Kelly is a man of integrity, and he also has quite a pair of you-know-whats. He doesn’t delve from his word, and if you screw around in his program, you will pay for it.

This also leads to another safe assumption for the Oregon program during the Kelly era: the NCAA will never slam them for recruiting violations. If coach Kelly is as strict on his players for following his rules, he will surely abide by the ones set for him just as closely.

So before anyone goes off on a wild tangent about how the Oregon program is a mess and they are more concerned with jacking computers from frat houses or beating their girlfriends, just remember who is pulling the strings on those players’ careers.

Kelly’s got one heck of a grip.

On the Docket - Rose Bowl: Ohio State (10-2) vs. Oregon (10-2)

Synopsis:

Ohio State was left for dead midway through the season when the offense couldn’t even score as much as the defense, and they were upset at the hands of hapless Purdue. Oregon is arguably the best two-loss team in football, and one of the best stories of the season after the infamous fiasco that ensued after the season-opening loss to Boise State on the road. Oregon is one of the most fun teams to watch, and head coach Chip Kelly is on the rise as a big name in the industry.

Player to watch: There are two dual-threat quarterbacks in this game in Jeremiah Masoli for Oregon and Terrelle Pryor for Ohio State. However, the name from this game that fans will hear most over the next three seasons is LaMichael James. James replaced Legarrette Blount as the starting running back after the season opener, and all he did was rush for 1,476 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2009. The diminutive back is an energetic piece to the Oregon offensive attack.

Who has the edge?

For Ohio State, a program which has been trying to discover the nuances of a successful spread offense, what better way to learn some of these than to see the best in the business first-hand? Masoli is a magician in the backfiled when it comes to executing play fakes and running the option. Pryor should pay close attention to his counterpart when he’s on the sideline.

Prediction:

Oregon 38

Ohio State 31

On the Docket: Oregon-Oregon State

Where: Oregon

When: Thursday 7:30

Why it matters: Because it has everything a college football game will ever need. It’s one of the most heated rivalries in the nation, and this year it is the de facto Pac-10 Championship Game. The winner of Thursday night’s game will clinch the conference title and secure a spot in the Rose Bowl opposite Ohio State.

Neither team has been to the Rose Bowl in quite a while. This will be the first time since 2001 that a team not named USC finished on top of the conference.

Oregon comes in with a high-powered offense, led by the ground game combination of Jeremiah Masoli and LaMichael James. The duo has accounted for 1929 yards rushing this season and 23 touchdowns.

The Beavers feature an outstanding running game of their own, led by sophomore Jacquizz Rodgers. Rodgers is averaging 5.5 yards per carry while racking up 1313 yards in his first 11 games.

Just because the two teams rely heavily on the running game during this era of pass-happy spread offenses, don’t think they both can’t light up the scoreboard.

Oregon is seventh in the country in scoring at 37.7 points per game, while the Beavers are 21^st with 32.4.

Oregon State has the more productive passing game with senior quarterback Sean Canfield. With Canfield under center, Oregon State is averaging 291 yards passing per game.

Oregon State also boasts the best run defense in the Pac-10, holding opponents to 98.5 yards per game.

The Ducks have had mixed results against superb running backs this season. On Sept. 26, Oregon held Cal’s Jahvid Best to 55 yards on 16 carries in a 42-3 win. Last month against Stanford, Toby Gerhart gashed the Ducks for 223 yards and three touchdowns. The Cardinal shocked Oregon 51-42.

Against teams that like to run the ball, the Beavers have fared remarkably well. They beat Stanford 38-28 and California 31-14. All three of their losses have come to teams that have a passing-oriented offense (Cincinnati, Arizona, USC).

Player to watch: Jeremiah Masoli’s performance is the key to this game. If he is able to throw the football with any success, the Ducks should celebrate late Thursday night.

If Oregon State is able to crowd the box with seven or eight defenders and play the Ducks’ running game, it will be a tough game.

Masoli has been one of the most clutch players this season, and hasn’t received nearly enough credit for it. He led the fourth-quarter comeback against Arizona two weeks ago, and also came up with huge drives in wins against Purdue and Utah.

He has played his best in the spotlight, so expecting him to play well against the Beavers is not far-fetched.

Who has the edge? If this were a neutral field game, I would take Oregon State in a heartbeat. I love the underdog in rivalry games, but because its at the “Autzen Zoo” in Eugene, it’s hard to give the Beavers an edge. On paper, Oregon State surprisingly matches up very favorably with the Ducks.

However, Chip Kelly is a better in-game coach than Mike Riley, even in his first year on the job. He’ll have an excellent game plan to score lots of points.

Also, Masoli is far more experienced than Canfield in atmospheres like the one this game will have. This game is literally too close to call.

Prediction: Oregon 41, Oregon State 37