Sophomore Jinx? Not At Oregon

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

I think we all agree that nobody can stop high-flying Oregon, right?

I wouldn't put it past the ornery Lane Kiffin to cook up some trouble for UO on when the Ducks take their act to USC on Saturday. The Trojans certainly will be a difficult out, but the visitors should get it done in a shootout and head into November still unbeaten and ranked No. 1.

And for those who pay attention to historical trends, let's take a look at some recent accomplishments by second-year people in the great sport of college football.

Bob Stoops (Oklahoma, 2000), Jim Tressel (Ohio State, 2002) and Urban Meyer (Florida, 2006) all coached their programs to national championships in their second seasons at their respective schools.

And prior to 2007, no sophomore had ever won the most prestigious individual honor in all of sports — the Heisman Trophy.

Since?

Well, there was that Tebow fella who won it as a sophomore that year. He was followed by Oklahoma's Sam Bradford the next season and Alabama's Mark Ingram last year. Three Heismans. Three years. Three sophomores.

Why the stroll down memory lane, you ask? It's because we could see two great accomplishments by second-year guys this season.

Oregon's Chip Kelly is in his second year as coach of one of the most explosive offenses in recent memory. No analyst can talk about the Ducks' defensive limitations without a follow-up disclaimer about how they're irrelevant because Oregon's offense is unstoppable. It wouldn't surprise me to see Kelly conclude his second year in Eugene by hoisting the Coaches' Trophy.

And his star running back, LaMichael James, could very well continue the streak of sophomore Heisman winners. He's rushed for 971 yards and 11 touchdowns in six games. His per-game average of 162 yards is tops in the country, and he leads an offense that averages 55 points per game. For those who fear the east-coast bias, three of Oregon's final five games could be nationally televised during prime-time hours, beginning with Saturday's tilt at USC (ABC, 8 p.m. ET).

If Oregon doesn't win the national championship, another second-year coach still might win it. Gene Chizik, an unpopular choice to replace Tommy Tuberville after Chizik won only five games in two miserable season at Iowa State, has a great chance to take his 8-0 Auburn Tigers to Glendale in January.

Comments

[Jeff Roberts]

Oregon's defense is actually extremely talented, deep and there are few if any "limitations". Oregon's offense scores so quickly, that the other teams offense simply has more opportunities to gain yards and score points than they typically do against other teams. The defense is actually one of Oregon's biggest strengths!