Oregon Ducks suffer two potentially massive losses during road Big Ten route over Michigan
Oregon went into The Big House and beat Michigan 38-17, but they left the game with a couple of potentially huge losses.Early in the first quarter, the Ducks' leading wide receiver Tez Johnson left the game after being tackled hard on the sidelines after securing a catch. He was ruled out of the game, and […]
Oregon went into The Big House and beat Michigan 38-17, but they left the game with a couple of potentially huge losses.
Early in the first quarter, the Ducks' leading wide receiver Tez Johnson left the game after being tackled hard on the sidelines after securing a catch. He was ruled out of the game, and was later seen walking the bench with a sling on his arm. It looks like Johnson, who had 63 receptions for 638 yards and eight touchdowns entering Saturday's game, might be dealing with a shoulder or collarbone injury. We're still waiting on more details.
“We’re still figuring it out," head coach Dan Lanning said after the game. "I really don’t have the details right now. He wasn’t available to come back in the game but I don’t know any more than that.”
Johnson wasn't the only big loss for Oregon. After a shaky start to the season, the offensive line gelled in recent weeks. Marcus Harper II, who has been the starting right guard and an anchor on the interior, left the game after being rolled up on, and did not return. After coming out of the injury tent, he was seen with ice on his left knee.
The wide receiver injury certainly isn't great, but fortunately Oregon is deep at the skill player positions. In this game, quarterback Dillon Gabriel was able to rely on Traeshon Holden, who led the game in receiving yards with 149. Gabriel got plenty of productions out of his running backs as well, with Jordan James going for 117 yards and a score late in the game, and Noah Whittington punched in two short touchdowns as well. Gabriel also took one himself, running in a 23-yard touchdown.
Against an incredibly stout Michigan defensive front, Oregon still being able to average 4.8 yards per carry is impressive. Gabriel played facilitator, distributing the ball to seven different targets throughout the game, while keeping the ball out of harm's way.
Coming out of this victory, the status of Johnson and Harper will be of the highest priority as the Ducks fly back to the Pacific Northwest to prepare to host Maryland next Saturday night.
Oregon unveils new uniform combination that pays homage to classic battle before Ducks fly to play Michigan
Another fire jersey from Oregon.
Follow along all year for more Oregon Ducks coverage on A to Z Sports. You can find me on X @JonHelmkamp, as well as follow our main page @AtoZSportsNFL for all the latest news.
