The Oregon Ducks picked up their seventh win of the season on Saturday at Autzen Stadium with a 21-7 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers but it’s safe to say offense didn’t play up to standard.
The constant rain and the injury to quarterback Dante Moore certainly played a role in Oregon’s below-average performance, but offensive coordinator Will Stein’s unit still ended up generating multiple big plays on the ground, something that has become a theme this season.
Even if Moore does end up missing some time, Oregon’s running backs have shown off some explosiveness that is statistically unmatched across the rest of college football, which could give quarterback Brock Thomas something to lean on if he is thrust into the starting role.
Oregon running backs Jordon Davison, left and Dierre Hill Jr. warm up as the Oregon Ducks host the Wisconsin Badgers on Oct. 25, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
According to Rob Moseley of GoDucks.com, Oregon leads college football this season with 24 runs of 20+ yards. This included four explosive runs in the win over Wisconsin, as the running back room all took turns getting their chance at gashing the Badgers’ defense.
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All four primary running backs — Noah Whittington, Jordon Davison, Dierre Hill Jr. and Jayden Limar — have had at least one run of 50+ yards this season. Searching for explosive? Look no further.
The Ducks have had a committee approach at running back this season but it clearly hasn’t impacted that group’s statistical output. If anything, it’s led to an increase in production, as Oregon is on pace to top its rushing total from last season when Jordan James operated as the primary ball carrier en route to a 1,000-yard season.
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Oregon coach Dan Lanning has had a 1,000-yard rusher each season since arriving to Eugene, though that’s likely to end this year. Still, there’s one name that has set himself apart this season for running backs coach Ra’Shaad Samples.
Oregon Ducks running back Jordon Davison reacts after defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images
Whittington is Oregon’s leader rusher (433) headed into the second bye week, but he is tied with the true freshman Davison in carries (51). Still, it’s Davison who leads the team with 10 rushing touchdowns, adding two more against the Badgers.
Davison arrived to Eugene as a four-star recruit and has looked every bit the part. He’s posted 51 carries for 352 yards and 10 touchdowns this season.
His production on long runs might come as a surprise to college football fans, but Davison saw it coming from himself based on what he’s been doing in practice.
“Whole time I knew I could do it,” Davison said. “It’s happened a couple times in practice, so I feel like everybody on the team wasn’t surprised. Like I knew I could do it. I’m confident in myself, and I know my capability as a player.”
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Oregon Ducks running back Dierre Hill Jr. carries the ball against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the second half at SHI Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
He has built a nice chemistry with Hill Jr., who has tallied 36 carries for 357 yards and three touchdowns this season.
“It’s kind of crazy, because coming in, they was like, who do I want to play with? And we was like watching each other’s film, and it was a couple backs, and I actually chose Dierre,” Davison said. “And his film stuck out to me. And then we was connecting before we got here, and then as soon as we got here, it just clicked, like, that’s my right-hand man. People probably think like, it’s just on the field, but we together every day, off the field, all the time.”
After the bye, the Oregon running backs will get another chance to show off their explosiveness when the Ducks visit the Iowa Hawkeyes.
On Saturday at 12:28 p.m. the National Weather Service issued an air stagnation advisory in effect until Thursday at 10 a.m. for Oregon Lower Treasure Valley as well as Harney, Baker and Malheur counties.
The weather service states to prepare for, “An extended period of stagnant air, with light winds and little vertical mixing. This is due to an inversion near the surface that will continue to trap pollutants.”
“Poor air quality may cause issues for people with respiratory problems,” states the weather service. “Persons with respiratory illness should follow their physicians advice for dealing with high levels of air pollution during periods of stagnant air.”
The quarterback position is one that the Oregon Ducks are constantly trying to stay ahead of. Five of their last seven starters have gone on to start at the next level, and they are expected to make it six of their last eight next year when Dante Moore enters the draft.
The Ducks were thought to have his replacement locked down in 2026 recruit Bryson Beaver, but he decided to enter the transfer portal after Moore announced his return. Time will tell if he made the right decision, because the guy who would have been his mentor used the 2024 season to learn behind Dillon Gabriel, and we see how well that worked out for him.
However, patience is a lost art in college football today, and Beaver wants to go to a school where he has a chance to play. It was revealed earlier today that he has committed to the Georgia Bulldogs for next season.
Georgia has been one of the premier college programs for what seems like forever, but they haven’t always developed great quarterbacks. The last NFL starter they produced was Matthew Stafford 18 years ago, so this is a bit of a puzzling decision for Beaver. It will be a difficult replacement for the Ducks to make, but luckily they have more than a year to secure the future of the position.
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EUGENE — Oregon’s season is going from bad to worse as it is now without its two leading scorers amid the toughest stretch of the year.
Center Nate Bittle is expected to be out for approximately a month with a foot injury and point guard Jackson Shelstad will miss a fifth straight game due to a right hand injury.
It leaves the Ducks (8-9, 1-5 Big Ten) severely compromised entering Saturday’s game with No. 4 Michigan (15-1, 5-1).
“We’ve had some guys that wanted to play more, so here’s their opportunity,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “We’ll see how they handle that opportunity.”
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Altman said Bittle, who is averaging a team-high 16.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.3 blocks, injured his foot on UO’s second offensive possession at Nebraska on Tuesday and tried to play through it. Medical tests on Thursday didn’t show any broken bones, Altman said, but Bittle is out “probably a month, maybe more.”
“In his last year and obviously he’s been the guy we’ve been going through,” Altman said. “Tough break for him and feeling sorry for ourself, it’s a tough break for our team.”
Shelstad is averaging 15.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists — all career-highs — despite career-low shooting 39.1% from the field, including 31.4% from three. He re-aggravated a preseason right hand injury, which required surgery, and has not played since the Dec. 28 win over Omaha.
“He can’t get it feeling right,” Altman said. “It’s his right hand so dribbling and shooting have been a problem.”
Amid a three-game losing streak and with two more ranked opponents upcoming, Oregon’s struggles won’t become any easier to manage around. It hasn’t been a strong team offensively even with Bittle and Shelstad; without them, the offensive sets UO can run are cut “drastically” as the center position is no longer a perimeter shooting threat and ball handling suffers.
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“It’s frustrating for the players,” Altman said. “They came here to win. They looked at 15 years of winning some games and they came here to win. It’s tough on the new guys. It’s tough on the vets that are here. It’s really tough for Jackson and Nate; they’re a big part of what we’ve done here.”
