This past Saturday, Ohio State football’s offensive coordinator, Chip Kelly, took a swipe at his old team and one of the past competitors who managed to defeat the Buckeyes this week.

In his first season at Ohio State, Kelly expressed his disapproval of the Ducks for intentionally committing a penalty during their close regular-season victory of 32-31 over the Buckeyes in Eugene, Oregon, while simultaneously commending national championship rival Notre Dame.

“They can double anybody they wish, but they can’t double everyone,” Kelly remarked while discussing Notre Dame’s defensive strategies ahead of Monday’s game. “If they try, it’ll result in a penalty due to too many players on the field. And we’ve experienced that against a certain team in a previous game.”

Kelly was referring to Oregon coach Dan Lanning, who sent an excess of 12 players onto the field after a timeout. Ohio State was facing a challenging third-and-25 with just 10 seconds left and needed to advance about 15 yards to get within field goal range. They executed a play that ended in an incompletion, but were subsequently rewarded with a five-yard penalty. Despite gaining some yardage, four crucial seconds ticked off the clock.

Ohio State later got its revenge against Oregon in the CFP Rose Bowl, claiming a decisive 41-21 victory to secure a spot in the semifinal. The Ducks’ reliance on trick plays to gain the upper hand against the Buckeyes during their first meeting was a significant point of discussion while preparing for the rematch.

“That served as a powerful message to our team leading up to the Rose Bowl, and I think it truly resonated with the players,” Kelly noted.

Ohio State feels confident that they could have triumphed over Oregon in their initial encounter if it weren’t for Lanning’s crafty tactics.

Kelly previously coached at Oregon from 2009 to 2012, guiding the Ducks to the 2011 BCS National Championship Game. During his tenure, he achieved a record of 46-7 and secured three Pac-12 Championships.

“It conveyed a distinctive message to our players—that overcoming us with 11 players was not enough; it had to be done with 12. Ultimately, the outcome reflected the battle of 11 against 11,” Kelly concluded.