Oregon Football: Ducks welcome back UCLA and Chip Kelly
By Dana Becker
Chip Kelly will return to Eugene this weekend, bringing his UCLA team with him to take on Oregon football. Can the Ducks ruin his homecoming?
Kelly led the Ducks as head coach from 2009-12 after a run as the offensive coordinator. He helped put Oregon firmly on the map, winning three Pac-12 Conference titles and both the Rose and Fiesta Bowls.
Now, though, Kelly will be the enemy as he steps foot inside Autzen Stadium in his first season with the Bruins. After coaching in the NFL with both the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, Kelly opted to return to college football, finding a home again in the Pac-12.
UCLA appeared to be finding a rhythm, winning two in a row after starting the year 0-5 with victories vs. California and Arizona. However, the Bruins were topped by Utah last week, 41-10.
Oregon, meanwhile, finds itself sitting at 5-3 with back-to-back defeats and facing the possibility of being without Justin Herbert. The star quarterback is in the concussion protocol after getting hurt in a 44-15 loss to Arizona.
Here’s how you can watch Saturday’s Pac-12 contest between UCLA and Oregon:
Date: Saturday, Nov. 3
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Eugene, Ore.
Venue: Autzen Stadium
TV: FOX
Live Stream: FOX Sports GO | Fubo TV
Keys to Victory
If Justin Herbert can’t go and Oregon needs to turn to Braxton Burmeister or Tyler Shough, the offense will needed to be limited in what they do against UCLA. If Herbert can go, the likely top quarterback picked in the 2019 NFL Draft should have a field day.
The Bruins continue to be a few pieces short on the defensive side of the ball, allowing 32.5 points and 431 yards of total offense per game. Oregon enters averaging 36.6 an 437, including 262 yards through the air.
For UCLA to get its third win and first for Kelly vs. his former team, they’ll need to rely on Joshua Kelley. The senior has 659 yards rushing and six touchdowns on the year.
Betting Odds
Odds courtesy of OddsShark
Point Spread: Oregon -8
Over/Under: 57
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Prediction
You can bet that Kelly wants nothing more than to enter Autzen Stadium and score the upset. But UCLA just might not quite be at that level yet, especially if Herbert does play for Oregon. Look for the Ducks to take advantage of their skill positions in this one.
Final Score: Oregon 35, UCLA 17