Fiesta Bowl thoughts

The Fiesta Bowl illustrated quite nicely how Oregon has changed the way the game is thought of today. Time of possession, dominating the ball and playing percentages are not as important for Oregon as the old perceived wisdom would have said. Some thoughts on this game:

• Louisville started the Sugar Bowl quick, but Oregon started even quicker here. Wait until the first play after kick-off to score? No, straight from the kick-off.
• I like the way Oregon are always looking to score as many points as they can. They always try and go for a 2-point conversion if they can instead of playing it safe. And so after 12 seconds its 8-0.
• During the second quarter it looked like controlling the tempo of the game would be key. The game was being played at Kansas State's pace and they were dominating possession. While they turned that into points at first (with a touchdown and a field goal), they ultimately didn't turn it into enough points. The missed field goal with 1 minute to go in the first half proved to be a crucial moment.
• After the missed field goal, Oregon showed why time of possession is unimportant to them. The rapid touchdown despite hardly seeing the ball all quarter was a demonstration of just how quick their offence can move and of how they can change the tempo of a game in an instant. The last minute of the first half probably decided the game. Instead of being only 2 points down at half-time if they had made the field goal, Kansas State were suddenly 12 down.
• Kansas State's offence isn't built to chase games. In stark contrast to Oregon's, they are built to do things slowly and methodically. It's very effective until they are chasing. In the last few minutes it didn't look right to see the roles reversed on offence with Oregon slowing things down and Kansas State trying to score quickly. Neither offence looked comfortably to me.
• Who knew there was a 1 point safety rule? Credit to the referee for a clear on-field explanation of what was happening.
• Is that the last we'll see of Chip Kelly at Oregon?