The 2009 Oregon Ducks football team represented the University of Oregon as member of the Pacific-10 Conference the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by head coach Chip Kelly in his first season as a head coach at the Division I FBS level. Kelly was only the third Ducks head coach since 1977 and led the Ducks to a Pac-10 championship and was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year. He took over for Mike Bellotti.
The Ducks finished the season 10–3, 8–1 in Pac-10 to claim the Pac-10 championship and earn the conference's automatic Bowl Championship Series (BCS) berth where they were invited to the Rose Bowl, the school's fifth Rose Bowl and first since the 1994 season. They were defeated by Ohio State 26–17.
Preseason July 29 – Senior Ed Dickson is named to the Mackey Award watchlist, given out to the nation's best tight end.
August 4 – Junior Jeremiah Masoli is named to the watch list for the Davey O'Brien Award.
August 8 – Senior LeGarrette Blount is named to the watch list for the Walter Camp Award.
Pre-season departures Quarterback and wide receiver Chris Harper, quarterback Justin Roper, and wide receiver Aaron Pflugrad all decided to transfer from the team before the 2009 season.
Recruiting
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_Harris_(cornerback)
Schedule
Game summaries
Boise State
Uniform combination: white helmet, white jerseys, white pants
Oregon's offense was completely shut down in the first half and was unable to gain a single first down. They allowed the Broncos to get into their red zone multiple times, but Oregon's defense held them twice. Both times resulted in Boise State attempting field goals after having a first and goal situation. Both field goals in the first quarter were missed by kicker Kyle Brotzman (29 and 47). In the second quarter, the Broncos scored on a TD pass from quarterback Kellen Moore to wide receiver Austin Pettis. Michael Choate ran in the two-point conversion. Billy Winn added to Boise State's first half score by tackling running back LeGarrette Blount for a safety. At the end of the first half, Kyle Brotzman booted in a 45-yard field goal to make the score 13–0. A low-scoring second half did not stop the Ducks from scoring a touchdown along with a two-point conversion. The rest of the game was back and forth until the clock expired, Boise State winning by 11.
After the game, Blount, who earlier in the week was quoted as saying, "We owe that team an ass-whuppin," punched Bronco DE Byron Hout in the chin after Hout had taunted him in front of Boise State head coach Chris Petersen. Blount then went after fans in the front row of the south end zone before being restrained and escorted off the field by security, police, and Oregon coaches. The next day, Oregon suspended Blount for the rest of the season, seemingly ending his career. However, in October, Kelly announced that Blount could return as early as November provided he meets certain academic and behavioral benchmarks.Hunt, John. Oregon's Chip Kelly defends change of heart; LeGarrette Blount could play by Stanford game. The Oregonian, October 2, 2009.
Purdue
Uniform combination: green helmets, green jerseys, green pants
The Ducks evened their 2009 record at 1–1 with a thrilling 38–36 win over Purdue in their first visit to Eugene. Jeremiah Masoli rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown and LaMichael James rushed for 56 yards. Walter Thurmond III returned an interception for a touchdown in the first half and Javes Lewis returned a fumble for a touchdown in the third quarter. With a minute and one second left to play Purdue failed on a two-point conversion that would have tied the game. Oregon recovered the onsides kick attempt and ran out the clock. Jamere Holland had 72 yards on 4 receptions but dropped a sure touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.
Utah
Uniform combination: white helmet, green jerseys, silver pants
Utah brought the Nation's longest winning streak of 16 into Autzen Stadium this year. This was the first meeting between the schools since a 17–13 Utah win at Salt Lake City in 2003. The Utes last trek to Autzen Stadium was in early September 2001, when Joey Harrington and the Ducks handled Utah 24–10 on their way to an 11–1 record and No. 2 in the Nation finish.
California
Uniform combination: throwback uniforms, yellow helmet, green jerseys, yellow pantsUniform combination: white helmet, green jerseys, silver pants
Cal has run off three in a row against the Ducks, more than any other Pac-10 school against Oregon. The Golden Bears streak is their longest versus Oregon since the 1970s. Cal won a waterlogged game at Berkeley last year, 26–16.
The Oregon Ducks quarterback Jeremiah Masoli struggled in previous games but had a major breakthrough against Cal, throwing 253 yards with 21 completions out of 25 attempts, three for touchdowns. Oregon tight end Ed Dickson had a career day with 11 catches for 148 yards and three touchdowns. The Oregon defense played very well, holding Jahvid Best who tied a Pac-10 record for rushing touchdowns the week prior, to just 55 yards on 16 carries. Before the game, Best was quoted as saying Autzen Stadium was the only venue where the crowd noise troubled him.
The Ducks had a rough start to the game when Walter Thurmond fumbled the opening kickoff reception. Thurmond was hit in the knee on the return and was later diagnosed with a torn ACL and ended up missing the rest of the season. Cal took possession and, on a drive that went for negative eight yards, scored a field goal, their only points in the game. The two teams went back and forth on several miscues. In the first quarter on the Ducks' first scoring drive, running back LaMichael James fumbled the ball and was picked up by Cal's defensive back Josh Hill. During his run back, Hill fumbled the ball again which was recovered by Oregon. In the second quarter, Cal recovered a fumble by Oregon, only to fumble the ball back on the very next play. Later that quarter, Oregon punter Jackson Rice kicked the ball off the side of his foot for a 5-yard punt. After a quick three-and-out by Cal, Bryan Anger, Cal's punter, booted the ball off the side of his foot for another 5-yard punt. Masoli's first touchdown pass of the season occurred in the first few seconds of the second quarter, a 26-yard completion to Ed Dickson.
Since Cal's first field goal, the Ducks went on to score 42 unanswered points to win the game. It was Cal's worst loss with Jeff Tedford as the head coach.
Washington State
Uniform combination: black helmet, yellow jersey, black pants
Oregon has won two in a row, and four of the last five against Washington State. The last two games have resulted in 63–14 and 53–7 victories by the Ducks. The Cougars have not won at Autzen since 2003 when they defeated Oregon 55–16.
UCLA
Uniform combination: green helmet, white jersey, green pants
Oregon won last year's match-up with UCLA 31–21 in Eugene. The Ducks last trip to the Rose Bowl in 2007 was a humbling experience, as they were shut out for the first time since 1985 by a score of 16–0. That game however was played the week after they had lost star QB Dennis Dixon to injury for the season. At game time, current Bruins head coach Rick Neuheisel was 4–2 against the Ducks going back to the days he coached the Colorado Buffaloes and the Washington Huskies. Since the first game in 1928, UCLA was leading the series 39–23.
With a solid performance in the first half and taking a field goal lead into the locker room, the Bruins gave up three quick touchdowns within few minutes of the third quarter to give the Ducks their fifth win of the season. The Ducks scored on Kenjon Barner's 100-yard kickoff return, on Talmadge Jackson's 31-yard interception, and on Nate Costa's 20-yard pass to Jeff Maehl, which was resulted from a UCLA fumble.
The Bruins scored their only touchdown when Akeem Ayers intercepted a Costa pass in the back of the Rose Bowl north end zone by keeping his feet in bound. Kai Forbath kicked a 52-yard field goal to give UCLA the early lead. Oregon’s Rob Beard attempted a 51-yard field goal, which was blocked by Jerzy Siewierski. Mogan Flint kicked a 33-yard field goals for the Ducks in the fourth quarter.Final Stats – No. 13 Oregon at UCLA , GoDucks.com, October 10, 2009
Washington
Oregon has won a school record five in a row over their hated rivals to the north, all by 20 or more points. Washington's last win over the Ducks came at Husky Stadium in 2003.
Uniform combination: black helmet, white jersey with silver numbers, black pants
After Erik Folk's 33-yard field goal in the first quarter for Washington, Oregon blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the endzone in the second quarter to give the Ducks their first lead. Javes Lewis intercepted Jake Locker's pass in the end zone to give the ball back to Oregon, which resulted in Jeremiah Masoli's 1-yard touchdown. With a second left, Folk kicked a 48-yard field goal to end the half, which was aided by a personal foul on Oregon.
With good field position at their own 47-yard line, the Ducks scored their third touchdown on Masoli's 3-yard run in the top of the third quarter.
USC
USC had not won a game in the state of Oregon for the past three years, a streak that the Ducks kept alive.Gary Klein, It's a big game for Trojans – and Pete Carroll, Los Angeles Times, October 30, 2009 USC beat Oregon in the Los Angeles Coliseum last year, 44–10.
Uniform combination: green helmet, green jersey, black pants
The tenth ranked Ducks handed the Trojans their worst loss since 1997 and Pete Carroll the worst loss in his tenure at USC. Ducks quarterback Jeremiah Masoli passed for 222 yards, and a score, and ran for 164 more, including a touchdown, while LaMichael James ran for 183 yards.
Stanford
The Ducks will go for their 8th straight win against Stanford this season. It is their longest current win streak against any Pac-10 school. The seven straight wins also ties the longest stretch of dominance in school history over the Cardinal (1957–63). Oregon came from behind and won last year in Eugene on a last minute touchdown, 35–28. Stanford's last win against Oregon came in Eugene in 2001. That was the Ducks only loss that season, on their way to an 11–1 finish and No. 2 final ranking.
Uniform combination: green helmet, white jersey, white pants
Oregon's undefeated conference season came to an end at Stanford, 51–42. Both teams have five victories in the Pac-10 championship race.
Arizona State
Oregon has won four straight over the Sun Devils by an average of 23.8 ppg, including last year's 54–20 win in Tempe.
Uniform combination: black helmet, black jersey, black pants
Arizona
Uniform combination: green helmet, white jersey with silver numbers, black pants
The previous trip the Ducks took to Tucson in 2007 was a crushing one as the Ducks saw their BCS National Championship Game hopes fade as their star quarterback Dennis Dixon tore his ACL in the first half of the game. The 2009 game was also important, as it involved the only two teams that week in the Pac-10 who were able to control their path to earn an outright Pac-10 Championship.