Oregon
Impressive Stat Shows How Explosive Oregon Ducks Offense Has Been
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
BLUE RIVER, Ore. (KATU) — The founder of a former disaster relief nonprofit is being sued for allegedly diverting nearly $837,000 in donations and grants for personal gain.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed the lawsuit Thursday against the founder and executive director of Cascade Relief Team (CRT), Marcus Brooks. In the complaint, Rayfield calls CRT “a sham.”
Brooks is accused of stealing donations and government grants meant for disaster relief following wildfires and flooding in 2020, and using it for personal expenses including casino visits, travel, vehicles, and more.
CRT was founded in 2020 and was hired for cleanup and relief services following the Labor Day Wildfires that burned over 1 million acres across Oregon.
In Blue River, an unincorporated community in the McKenzie River Valley, the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire destroyed nearly 800 homes and burned more than 173,000 acres.
I am angry that my community was taken advantage of
Just months after the fire, long-time Blue River resident Melanie Stanley said CRT stepped in and promised help to the community.
“For us, it was…like a savior at that point,” Stanley said.
Stanley was the manager for the Blue River Resource Center and worked for Brooks to help facilitate recovery efforts. She said CRT operations slowly became questionable.
“None of us knew the level at which all of this stuff that finally came out was at,” Stanley said. “We knew that there was some stuff that had started to look hinky or feel hinky, or there was just some lack of communication that was happening. There were some other things that were happening, and so we just all were kind of guarded.”
In fall of 2023 the nonprofit was reported to have run out of money, and Brooks allegedly fired staff without disclosing the organization’s financial conditions and did not notify donors or beneficiaries. Stanley was one of those people fired.
The state now claims the funds that were meant to go towards communities like Blue River, never made it out of Brooks’ hands, including donations given by Blue River neighbors.
“I am angry that my community was taken advantage of, and I am angry that they now have to worry about trusting when something else happens, because we know something else is going to happen,” Stanley said. “We hope to God it’s never anything as big or as bad as what has happened, but you know, we also have learned that groups like Locals Helping Locals…they are our foundation, and they are because they’re us.”
The state is seeking to recover the money, permanently bar Brooks from serving in a leadership role at a charitable organization and dissolve the nonprofit.
Stanley said Brooks’ actions have tainted reputations.
“We as a community and as the people from the community who helped kind of put all of these things together, we did what was asked of us,” Stanley said. “We did help clean things, and we did help get things to provide, you know, more progress and get things moving forward, and we did good work, and so I just really hope that this is not overshadowed.”
According to Stanley, Blue River’s recovery now stands at 50%.
“We will be very picky from here on out about who and what groups gets let in to help with anything,” Stanley said. “And sadly, it may be to our detriment, but he did more damage now, as far as reputations go, and for that I’m angry. I’m very angry.”
The Oregon Ducks have been progressing through the class of 2027 with hopes of landing some of their top target’s commitment on both the offense and the defense.
With many names left on the board, the Ducks have started to receive some great news, including some news from someone they have been targeting since they offered back in January of 2025.
Darius Johnson Releases His Top Four Schools
One of the Ducks top targets’ in the 2027 class at the cornerback position is Darius Johnson. Johnson recently released his top schools with Hayes Fawcett, as he is entering a crucial part of his recruitment. The four schools he has listed at the top include the California Golden Bears, Michigan Wolverines, UCLA Bruins, and the Oregon Ducks.
Johnson is one of the better cornerbacks in the country. He currently ranks as the nation’s No. 178 prospect in the country, No. 20 player at the position, and the No. 14 player in the state of California, according to Rivals. Landing his commitment would be major for any of the schools, as he is someone who could see the field early due to his size, and his growing ability to lockdown a side of the field all by himself.
More About Darius Johnson
Johnson currently measures in at 6-1 and 155 pounds, and will be someone who continues to add weight through his high school program, and will eventually have the chance to really improve his frame when he gets to college. As of now, each of the four schools has a solid chance to win its recruiting battle, but there seems to be a clear leader at this moment.
The leader for the Ducks target seems to be the Michigan Wolverines, who have the only scheduled official visit at this moment. It seems likely that the talented prospect will schedule his other official visits sooner rather than later now that he has officially cut down his list. If the Ducks want to land his commitment, they will need to get him on an official visit because they are likely trailing at this point.
What If He Committed to Oregon Today?
If he were to commit to the Ducks today, he would be the ninth commitment for the Ducks in the class of 2027. He would also be the third cornerback commit for the Ducks in the class of 2027, which is a position they have been recruiting heavily. The cornerbacks the Ducks have at this moment are four-star Ai’King Hall from the state of Alabama and four-star Josiah Molden from the state of Oregon.
Some of their other commits at this moment include four-star EDGE Rashad Streets, four-star defensive linemen Zane Rowe, and four-star EDGE Cameron Pritchett. This class is shaping up to be another top-five class if the pieces continue to fall into place for Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his staff.
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