When Oregon met an Urban Meyer-coached Utah team in 2003, the Ducks were ranked No. 22 in the nation. Oregon was coming off a tightly contested 31-27 win over a No. 3 Michigan team that would go on to repeat as Big Ten champions. Oregon fans were thrilled to be in the national discussion. Mike Bellotti, one of the pivotal pioneers and engineers that laid the foundation for Oregon’s future success, was the head coach.
Looking back at it now, that year was the climax of a former, respectable Oregon self – the one that came just prior to former head coach Chip Kelly’s installation of the up-tempo spread offense. During this time, 10-win seasons and major bowl appearances were not taken for granted.
Soon after the Ducks’ dramatic win against Michigan, Oregon dropped back-to-back losses. After its loss to No. 19 Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium 17-13, Bellotti had an epiphany: that Oregon’s overall approach to the game was limited.
This is what Mark Helfrich needs to keep in mind as he seeks for answers to the Ducks’ glaring problems on both sides of the ball following their 62-20 loss to Utah last Saturday. Not that he needs to completely throw everything out the window, but it’s clear that the program has run into a wall.
Bellotti’s gut feeling 12 years ago ended up being the driving force behind a complete overhaul, one that would soon open way for Kelly’s creativity.
After the 2003 season, Bellotti tackled his program’s most pressing issue head on, step-by-step, by being open-minded. He understood that his program needed serious change if it was going to make legitimate leaps towards national contention. In turn, coordinators were brought in and schemes were changed. The main transformation — that involved a major level of risk — took place on the offensive side of the ball, where the spread offense entered its infant stages under then offensive coordinator Gary Crowton.
It might be worth it for Helfrich to look into a similar type of approach to a blatant obstacle.
It’s been seven years since Kelly first took over as Bellotti’s offensive coordinator. To put things into perspective: Oregon dropped out of the AP Top 25 Poll for the first time since Kelly took over as head coach in 2009. During the Kelly era, Oregon went to two Rose Bowls (winning one against Wisconsin in 2011,) won three straight Pac-12 titles, appeared in its first national championship game and boasted a 46-7 record.
Just like Bellotti hoped for, Kelly successfully manufactured a new breed of Oregon football under the “Win the Day” mantra.
Never once did the Ducks get blown out the way it did on Saturday.
Before this loss, the Ducks had been ranked for 98 consecutive weeks, which was the second-longest active streak in the nation, behind Alabama’s 120 consecutive weeks.
There is something to be said about great coaches like Urban Meyer and Nick Saban who have, time and time again, re-invented their programs. It’s what’s kept them and their teams in the national spotlight for so long.
Nobody knows how Helfrich will respond to this mess. But if he wants this program to thrive in the College Football Playoff era, changes are due. Bellotti brought Kelly in 2009 to give new life to Oregon.
What will Helfrich do?
Follow Hayden Kim on Twitter @HayDayKim