FanHouse Chip Kelly

Saturday was to be the college football return for embattled Oregon tailback LeGarrette Blount, but a funny thing happened along the way -- the Ducks never found a need for him in an impressive 44-21 victory over Arizona State.

The 44 points marked the fourth straight game Oregon's red-hot offense has scored 42 or more. Meanwhile, the cold night at Autzen Stadium seemingly prompted the Duck coaching staff to give Blount -- suspended since Sept. 4 for punching a Boise State player and refusing to leave the stadium peacefully -- the cold shoulder.

EUGENE, Ore. -- Those football coaches who at least make an attempt at opening a book whose primary letters are not X and O often reach for biographies. Famous military leaders are popular.

Earlier this season Chip Kelly was reading, even committing to memory, a children's book. On the coffee table in his office here, the first-year Oregon coach kept a copy of "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day."

Certainly Kelly can relate. In his sideline debut Kelly, 45, had a terrible, horrible, no good, cable-news-channel-attention-getting, very, very bad day.

And he has not had one since. But we are getting ahead of the story.

We've all been there, angry over the money we spent to follow a team that plays like absolute crap. Most of us hold our quiet rage inside, some of us head for the message boards, other, more practical fans, send a business invoice seeking a refund from their head football coach for the cost of their trip. Wait, what? Meet Oregon fan and graduate Tony Seminary, who sent Oregon head coach Chip Kelly an e-mail with an attached business invoice itemizing his expenses for his trip to go see Oregon play Boise State, a game they lost 19-8. Seminary's invoice totaled $439.

His e-mail to Chip Kelly, courtesy of Spencer Hall at EDSBS, read as follows:

I was so angry with the game (even before the post-game melee) I am sending you an invoice for my trip to Boise. The product on the field Thursday night is not something I was at all proud of, and I feel as though I'm entitled to my money back for the trip. Please see my invoice attached in this email. I will happily send along receipts if need be.

That's when the story gets interesting. Chip Kelly responded with a personal check made out to Seminary in the amount of the invoice, $439.

Oregon has announced that running back LeGarrette Blount will be suspended for the remainder of the 2009 season for punching Boise State player Byron Hout.

And this is why the Pac-10 doesn't get any national love.

Throughout the summer, Oregon -- regarded as a legitimate contender for the Pac-10 title this season -- talked plenty of trash about getting payback against Boise State after being upset by the WAC champions in 2008.

But when the Ducks, ranked 16th in the preseason AP poll, had a chance to back up their words, they came up empty as 14th-ranked Boise State dominated from start to finish in a sloppy 19-8 victory in the season opener Thursday night in Boise, Idaho.

Just another blow to the Pac-10's shaky image.

LOS ANGELES -- USC was picked to win the Pac-10 football title for the seventh consecutive year by the media, and yet the coaches from all nine competitors -- including Arizona's Mike Stoops (right) and even USC coach Pete Carroll -- touched on the uncertainty of the Trojans this season.

USC received 28 of the 32 votes with California receiving three while third-place Oregon collected one vote. The Trojans will be breaking in a new quarterback and several new defenders since 11 players were taken in the NFL Draft. Perhaps this is the year another school emerges and takes the crown out of Los Angeles, but they approached Thursday precariously and with respect. There were no declarations that USC is going down or the reign is over -- not even from UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel.

Chip Kelly has yet to coach a game for the Oregon Ducks, and in this much-anticipated season, he is already three players down following recent transfers. Kelly took over for Mike Bellotti, who moved on to athletic director after 14 seasons, and the first thing he did was name QB Jeremiah Masoli the starter for next season. That prompted the transfer of Justin Roper, who started the first three games last season before a knee injury against Purdue.

Receiver Aaron Pflugrad then followed Roper out of the door, and Tuesday the school announced WR Chris Harper was leaving to be closer to his Wichita, Kan. home. Harper was a true freshman last season and will have three years of eligibility remaining.

College Football Spring Storylines 2009 looks at the key developments and big news from spring ball.

Since 2002, the Pac-10 has been derisively called USC and the nine dwarves. Its more than a little unfair, but that's the prevailing wisdom. Although the conference is consistently among the deepest and most competitive around, USC's monopolized that top spot. Any chance of that changing this year begins with decisions those programs make this spring.

Breaking news this Friday afternoon as it is being reported Oregon football coach Mike Bellotti is stepping down after 14 seasons in Eugene. In that time he made Oregon a prominent program nationally, finishing with a 116-55 record.

He guided the school to four seasons of 10 or more victories, a pair of Pac-10 championships, a Rose Bowl and a Fiesta Bowl victory over Colorado in 2001 when they arguably should have been playing Miami for the national championship. The announcement was not unexpected, as Oregon said it would name offensive coordinator Chip Kelly his successor and slide Bellotti over to the Athletic Director's desk upon his retirement.

A member of the Oregon legislature plans to introduce a bill that would require the state's public universities, including Oregon and Oregon State, to interview at least one minority before hiring a head football coach.

The law would be modeled on the NFL's "Rooney Rule," which has been in place for six years and has coincided with an increase in African-American head coaches in the NFL.