Jan. 3, 2013; Glendale, AZ, USA; Detail view of the Oregon Ducks helmet during the second half against the Kansas State Wildcats during the Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Ducks beats the Wildcats 35-17. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Here’s the conference slate for football:

• Saturday, September 28th – vs California
• Saturday, October 5th – at Colorado
• Saturday, October 12th – at Washington
• Saturday, October 19th – vs Washington State
• Saturday, October 26th – vs UCLA
• Thursday, November 7th – at Stanford
• Saturday, November 16th – vs Utah
• Saturday, November 23rd – at Arizona
• Friday, November 29th – vs Oregon State

Oregon will not play USC or Arizona State, but having to face UCLA instead might be even tougher with the Bruins winning the South division a season ago. Luckily, bye weeks will come before conference play begins and the week before that Thursday night game in Stanford, separating what could be the toughest stretch of the schedule. The Ducks will still have to play two road games in the month of November, obviously a tough one against the Cardinal and Arizona will obviously be no small task.

No times and TV schedules are announced as of yet, but it’s expected that the Thursday night game against Stanford and the rivalry game against Oregon State will be on national TV, likely an ESPN network. The Pac-12 Championship game will be on Saturday, December 7th, and will be broadcast on either ESPN or ABC.

The Ducks will play Nicholls State and Tennessee at home, with a game at Nevada sandwiched in-between, for their non-conference slate. This schedule breaks down into having seven home games, five away games, and zero neutral site games in the regular season.

Brian Spaen is the lead editor of Autzen Zoo and Clones Confidential. Follow more Oregon Ducks coverage with the zoo on Twitter.

Jan. 3, 2013; Glendale, AZ, USA: Kansas State Wildcats running back De

The Ducks pulled away from Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl, eventually winning 35-17, to impress enough voters to reach second place in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls. Notre Dame finishes at third in the Coaches poll and fourth in the AP poll due to Ohio State still being eligible for that one.

Georgia, Texas A&M, Stanford, and South Carolina all finish in the same order in both polls, then both have significant shakeups afterwards. Oregon State is the only other Pac-12 team outside of the top two teams from the North division to finish in the top 25. The Beavers finish 19th in the Coaches poll and 20th in the AP poll.

Unsurprisingly, no teams from the South division made either poll. UCLA won it but lost in the Pac-12 championship game and then to a red-hot Baylor team in the Holiday Bowl.

After all the postseason events, there’s little debate that Oregon should finish as a runner-up in the polls. Stanford has an argument to finish higher after the way they dominated most of the Pac-12 with their strong defensive line causing havoc for all the conference opponents including the Ducks.

The Pac-12 finished at 4-4 overall with their eight eligible bowl teams. Despite the former number one ranked team losing to a 6-7 Georgia Tech squad, the conference won both of their BCS bowl games taking down their annual Big Ten opponent in the Rose Bowl and defeating the Big 12 champions in the Fiesta Bowl.

Brian Spaen is the lead editor of Autzen Zoo and Clones Confidential. Follow more Oregon Ducks coverage with the zoo on Twitter.

Jan 3, 2013; Glendale, AZ, USA; Oregon Ducks coach Chip Kelly (left) and quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) celebrate after the 2013 Fiesta Bowl against the Kansas State Wildcats at University of Phoenix Stadium. Oregon defeated Kansas 35-17. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

As soon at late Sunday night, multiple sources started reporting that Kelly would indeed be staying at Oregon for another year. He had lengthy interviews with the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles over the weekend, talks lasting multiple hours but Kelly left both of those meetings without a deal signed.

It’ll likely never be known how close Kelly was to getting a job with these teams. As usual, he’ll be tight-lipped about it and will joke around with reporters that ask about it. At least he was true to his word, he said the process would be quick, and talking to two teams and making a decision in three days was pretty quick.

The good news is that Kelly will be returning to an Oregon Ducks squad that will return many of their players, including Marcus Mariota and De’Anthony Thomas. Considering this defense was the best he’s had in his four seasons, it’s intriguing to look at how much this team will be improved on both sides of the ball.

But how long will Kelly stay at Oregon? Will the third time be a charm after next season when he talks to the NFL and he’ll finally find the right fit? If the Ducks won a national championship, would he have gone to the next level? Did Kelly not want to have a cloud hanging over him for bolting to the NFL with potential NCAA penalties coming?

Honestly, does he really even care about these things? Probably not. The bottom line is that he likely just didn’t find the right fit or the team he was being interviewed with didn’t like it either. Either way, regardless of what the NCAA does, Kelly will be at Oregon for another season. Ducks fans are already counting down to next football season.

Brian Spaen is the lead editor of Autzen Zoo and Clones Confidential. Follow more Oregon Ducks coverage with the zoo on Twitter.