Oregon Football: Ducks rudely welcome Chip Kelly back home

The Oregon football team didn’t need any extra motivation playing UCLA Saturday night, but after back-to-back losses, they desperately needed a victory.

Justin Herbert overcame his concussion suffered last week as the Ducks scored a 42-21 victory over the Bruins in Chip Kelly‘s first game as an opposing coach in Autzen Stadium. The star quarterback was hurt a week ago and spent time in concussion protocol, but was cleared to play.

Herbert finished the contest 18 of 32 for 264 yards with two touchdowns, while CJ Verdell added 90 yards rushing and a score. Dillon Mitchell, who was also banged up last week but recovered in time to face the Bruins, had eight catches for 156 yards with both of Herbert’s scores.

Kelly, in his first season with UCLA, led Oregon before leaving for the NFL to coach both the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers. The Ducks won the 2011 Rose Bowl, 2012 Fiesta Bowl and were three-time Pac-12 champions under his watch.

Joshua Kelley was the lone bright spot for the visitors, running for 161 yards with a touchdown. The junior has racked up five games with over 100 yards this season, with this performance being his career-high. He has also scored in five consecutive games.

The move back to college football, though, has been tough for Kelly. The Bruins have dealt with injuries and some off-the-field issues, losing their first five games of the season. They did get on track with two consecutive wins over California and Arizona, but are just 2-7 overall and 2-4 in the conference.

After defeating Washington last month, Oregon appeared set to go on a run at 5-1 with the lone loss being to Stanford in overtime. The Ducks, though, came up short vs. Washington State on the road and were manhandled at Arizona last week.

With games against Utah, Arizona State and Oregon State on the horizon, this was a must-win game for Oregon, who is now 6-3 and 3-3. UCLA, meanwhile plays Arizona State, USC and Stanford to close out the season.