Ducks' onside kick, 'aggressive' calls KO UCLA

EUGENE, Ore. -- It was 12 years agone that Chip Kelly, past conscionable 18 games into his tenure arsenic Oregon caput coach, stood connected the sideline other Stanford's Jim Harbaugh and called a astonishment onside kick. The Ducks were down 21-10 successful the 2nd 4th astatine the time, and the play sparked a 49-10 scoring tally for Oregon and a triumph implicit the ninth-ranked Cardinal.

On Saturday, Kelly returned to Eugene arsenic UCLA caput manager with an undefeated no. 9 Bruins team, and this clip it was first-time caput manager Dan Lanning who reached into his sleeve for a near-identical instrumentality that helped propel no. 10 Oregon to a 45-30 win.

After the Ducks scored successful the 2nd 4th to spell up 17-10, kicker Andrew Boyle dribbled the ensuing kickoff consecutive up with his foot, waited for it to scope 10 yards and past jumped connected it. It was a play Oregon had been practicing each week successful secrecy, taking vantage of an opening they saw successful UCLA's kickoff sum team. Lanning adjacent told members of the media who saw them moving connected it successful signifier to support it quiet. The incoming rainfall besides factored in.

"I told you don't archer anybody oregon I'll ne'er fto you travel to signifier again, right?" Lanning said postgame with a smile. "We saw it aft the archetypal kickoff, and we felt like, OK, that's the look we want, we deliberation we got a accidental for it. It looked similar determination was immoderate upwind coming in. We felt similar if determination was a accidental to bargain a possession it would beryllium earlier the upwind truly hit."

As the Ducks' discourtesy came disconnected the field, they tried to disperse connected the sideline to not springiness thing away. Boyle perfectly timed the play, which was designed to beryllium recovered by him, and the momentum of the crippled shifted arsenic the rainfall began to fall.

Quarterback Bo Nix, who finished the crippled 22-of-28 for 283 yards and 5 touchdowns, took attraction of the rest, starring the discourtesy down the tract for different touchdown aft the onside kick. Suddenly, the Ducks were up 24-10.

"When you support an explosive discourtesy similar that disconnected the tract it slows them down, makes them cold," Nix said. "We didn't truly look backmost aft that."

The Kelly-like aggression and creativity was not reserved for peculiar teams. On offense, Lanning and violative coordinator Kenny Dillingham went for 4 4th downs and converted 3 of them.

"I deliberation you tin benignant of springiness recognition to a batch of our occurrence offensively to manager Lanning's aggression, close now," Nix said postgame. "He's a ace assertive caput coach, which is simply a small different, due to the fact that he's antiaircraft minded."

Lanning arrived successful Eugene aft having made his estimation coaching Georgia's ascendant 2021 defense. But against UCLA connected Saturday, helium knew helium would person to outmaneuver Kelly connected discourtesy to person a accidental astatine beating the erstwhile Ducks coach. Extra possessions, tempo and agelong drives would beryllium cardinal against a Bruins' discourtesy that had scored much than 40 points successful 4 consecutive games.

Oregon totaled 5 much minutes of possession than UCLA and had 544 full yards of discourtesy to their 448.

"At halftime we sat determination and talked astir however the astir carnal squad is going to triumph this game," Lanning said. "You look astatine the marque of shot we played going into the fractional and coming retired successful the 3rd quarter, we said we're going to tally the shot and beryllium physical."

The closing fig came successful the 3rd quarter. After holding UCLA to a tract extremity connected its opening second-half drive, Nix and Co. got the shot with 9 minutes near successful the quarter. They went 82 yards connected 15 plays, including 12 runs, and took much than 7 minutes disconnected the timepiece earlier scoring a touchdown to spell up by 22.

Lanning said 1 of the team's goals Saturday was to guarantee it had the borderline connected explosive plays, which Kelly's discourtesy had been doing with ease. Thanks to Nix, who had the Bruins' defence connected a drawstring each day, and a Ducks' defence that contained Dorian Thompson-Robinson, that proved to beryllium the case.

By utilizing his legs (51 yards connected 8 carries), Nix opened up freeway-sized lanes successful the passing game, wherever helium was astir cleanable connected everything from checkdown throws to a parabolic 49-yard heavy shot to Troy Franklin for a touchdown that sent the sellout assemblage astatine Autzen Stadium into a frenzy.

Nix said aft the crippled that this was what helium wanted erstwhile helium made the determination to transportation from Auburn to Oregon.

"I can't talk to thing before," Lanning said erstwhile asked astir what's changed from THE Nix astatine Auburn to the 1 astatine Oregon. "Beyond that ... you can't ticker a shot crippled close present and archer america that feline is not elite."

Following a tumultuous play astatine Auburn past year, Nix has displayed the perfect operation of explosiveness and composure nether Dillingham's direction. Dillingham, a erstwhile Auburn quarterbacks coach, worked with Nix during the 2019 season, but this is the archetypal play successful which helium has called plays for Nix to execute.

"We're conscionable connected offensively. I cognize what helium wants retired there," Nix said. "He trusts maine with what I see, and I deliberation this is the closest we've been each season."

With Saturday's win, Oregon continues to crook its season-opening 46-point nonaccomplishment to Georgia into a further fading memory. The Ducks present power their destiny successful the conference. If they triumph out, they volition beryllium successful Las Vegas for the Pac-12 championship.

"I don't deliberation anybody connected our squad is satisfied and I deliberation that's what gives this squad a accidental to beryllium bare and great," Lanning said. "We're going to bask this one, though."