Oregon Ducks and Notre Dame Are 2-4, Heading In Different Directions

Mark Helfrich is working the problem and Brian Kelly appears to be in total denial.

Six weeks into the 2016 season and there are two teams that had high expectations with Star talent entering the year. The Oregon Ducks had Royce Freeman. Notre Dame had an architect in Head Coach Brian Kelly, a Star all his own for having successful seasons and his team ranked each season, but the bottom fell out in both Eugene and South Bend.

Oregon was hit with injuries almost from the start with the loss of Wide Receiver Devon Allen and Offensive Lineman Tyrell Crosby. Shortly after a successful 2-0 start, Royce Freeman went down with an injury at Nebraska which started a tailspin. The Ducks have lost four straight games.

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Notre Dame gave up 47 points to Texas to start the season with a loss before winning against Nevada. The Fighting Irish the lost at home to a 12^th ranked Michigan State team and lost at home to Duke. They stepped up to beat Syracuse then lost to NC State in a low-scoring game at 10-3. The Notre Dame Defense is giving up roughly 30 points per game, similar to Oregon before Washington put up 70.

Oregon is culpable. They are aware of the losses. Coach Helfrich apologized in front of the media after the game on Saturday. Coaches are upset. Players are vocal about what may be causing the meltdown and it will be fixed. It may take some time, but experience and learning on the job will pay dividends.

While Helfrich is dealing with regional media, the fight against Brian Kelly has gone National. The Fighting Irish have a game against Stanford on Saturday. His comments leading up to the game make him seem more delusional with each loss. He takes none of the blame, ““It has nothing to do with scheme or coaching “ he told the IndyStar. Kelly also said it had nothing to do with his players. Ok, what or who else is there when it comes to blame? He went on to say it was a team issue, “There is just a fine line between winning and losing, and we’re not making or executing as a unit. Not any one person, but as a group, we’re not executing effectively in the closing minute to win football games. “

As the Head Coach, you have to take at least some of the blame right? Not put it all on your team. The differences between Oregon and Notre Dame are clear. The Fighting Irish are not fighting hard enough, and while Oregon may not be the Fighting Ducks, injuries have taken a toll on both sides of the ball this season. Youth also rules the roost on both Offense and Defense for Oregon.

Notre Dame, in my opinion, is in a tougher spot than Oregon right now. When you have a coach who can’t see the writing on the wall – issues don’t get fixed. At least Helfrich can see what needs to be done – he has done it before. We need to give the Oregon Staff an opportunity to get out of it again.

Next: Oregon Ducks Get Healthy During Bye Week

The Oregon Ducks have a bye week this week, Notre Dame heads to the Farm to take on Stanford on Saturday.

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