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Here’s my take on the situation. There have been some discussions that Hughes was struggling with the playbook and grasping all the little things in the offense during the offseason. That put Noah and Limar as RB1 & RB2 out of the gate. My guess is that the initial thought process going into fall camp was that they were probably looking to get the young guys some carries in practice and in early games (Hill and Davison) with a plan to possibly redshirt them, due to depth at the position. The problem is that both of those guys have stepped up big time and have played extremely well for true freshmen. The result is that you have very little separation within the RB group right now. Hill has true game breaking speed, Davison looks powerful, and both have very good vision for their age. I have been very impressed with Davison as a runner, but did you see him pick up that blitz in the OSU game? That was rad! I love our running back room right now. There are freshmen with a ton of talent, mixed with veterans that are solid college RBs. But to Charles’ point, none of these guys are Droughns. If they were, we wouldnt be talking about rotations right now. Im not a coach, but if I had to shorten the bench to 4 right now, it would be Noah, Limar, Hill and Davison. All things being equal, I am playing the guys with more eligibility and a higher ceiling.

Amazing insight. Thanks JJ.

I totally agree, but I don't think Davison will sit. They clearly like him in short yardage situations. Almost all his touches have resulted in 1st downs ot TD's! That leaves just D Hill to redshirt. Would M Hughes be willing to wait another year? This week should give answers.

I think Hill and Davison surprised at being so capable as freshmen. I can only believe Hughes has been slower to pick up offense and/or show he can block effectively. It appears Noah is #1. Limar #2, and Davison for short yardage. Hill and Hughes are there too, but how many touches will they get. I believe that rotation will be reduced across all positions as the season progresses. It will be up to each player to be ready when he gets his chance. There is no doubt our RB room is deep with loads of potential. Having fresh backs for all 4 quarters will be advantageous. We will see the cream rise to the top each week.

Wouldn't surprise me... Also... think of things this way too about some of the runningbacks. We've had 4 games. They've all maxed out their redshirts. If the plan is to redshirt them now they had a chance to prove themselves and they might sit the rest of the season. The first four games were a great chance to test the young runners while giving the vets a chance to rest. Whittington probably could have played against NW if it was against a better team like Penn State but why risk it? Limar will be an interesting one to watch moving forward. He has had some nice flashes but he hasn't been Bucky Irving or Jordan James. At this time I don't think we have an Irving or a James. Hoping someone emerges.

Yikes. And what percentage of those completions and TDs were to TE Tyler Warren, who is now in the NFL? Penn State might beat Oregon on Saturday night but I would be shocked if it were due to Allar and the passing game…

Davison has the body type that can wear down a defense. He is a +230lbs back, with thunder thighs, that can run through some DB’s. From my experience, driving through a tackle of someone 30 to 40 lbs sounds great, until you are the one doing it. Just go run into a wall at full speed, and that will give you the true experience of getting curb stomped by a RB, or TE, that we see at times on the field. Personally, I like splitting reps with a change of tempo type combo. Power runner, coupled with an elusive fast guy. Perhaps knowing the blocking schemes, and assignments, keeps Hughes on the sidelines. Our depth is great for playing average teams, but you need the guys that know what is going on when any audible is called in the big games.

I really like Davison but Noah has looked very good when he’s been healthy and I believe that Lamar has earned his playing time. He is a tough runner and quick. Reminds me a bit of Travis Dye. I believe that Anthony Newman said he expects the rotation to shrink.

The Good News is Noah Wittington is expected to be back for the Penn St. game. Oregon starting running back Noah Whittington expected to be available against Penn State

Los Angeles recruiting and B1G membership off the top of my head. IMO, nobody with options is willingly choosing to move to Stoolwater 😜 UCLA is on the rise with NIL spending, right coach there could make some waves.

I knew a handful of Oregon football players, including a couple of starters, when I was in school. They did not go to bed early, especially on the weekends. They were 18-22 year old college students enjoying college life, just like the rest of us. (They were just a lot bigger/stronger/athletic/faster and a heck or a lot better at football than the rest of us.) Perhaps things have changed and that’s why we are winning a lot more football games now then when I was in school…

Keep the grass $GREEN$

Don’t get me wrong, Droughns might be my all time favorite Duck, but I’m actually very optimistic about our frosh backs and was surprised that Noah was HB1 out of the gate. As a fan, it’s hard to get a feel when splitting carries between 7-8 guys to date.

Is there any chance that Makhi Hughes has been told to take it easy in the first 4 games where he was not needed, so he could be sprung on an unsuspecting Penn State? Is that something Lanning and Stein would do? If so, that would be AWESOME!!!

Yes, but something looks amiss. Did we whiff on the portal as he is a G5/6 RB? I'm hoping he can show what made him great at Tulane. Are our youngsters just that much better? I hope so, only in that it means they are very very good.

Just give Hughes more touches! Good things happen when he has the ball. I don't know what he has done here to fail to impress the coaches, but look at the guy's history!

Firing Gundy like this is really low-class act by that OSU - the guy has been there for 20 mostly good years! He is hardly the biggest reason for the program's failure. They need more NIL money! I don't think changing the HC will change that dynamic. Same exact situation at the Rodents. They only way they can be competitive is to move to FCS! I hope WS waits till the end of the season to make a move. The openings right now are pretty unimpressive. Besides the money, why would he move now?

Football: Penn State Q & A Getting to know Saturday’s opponent for the big game The game we have all had our calendars circled for is finally here. To help get ready for this week we have done a Q&A exchange with our friend Brian from Penn State sister site at Black Shoe Diaries. Brian organized a Q&A exchange for last year’s Big Ten Championship game and had nothing but good things to say about interacting with Duck fans. Find my answers to his questions will be posted on Black Shoe Diaries on Friday. Addicted To QuackFootball: Penn State Q & AGetting to know Saturday’s opponent for the big game

What Oregon Coach Dan Lanning Did at Practice to Prepare for Penn State White Out The No. 6 Oregon Ducks will face off against the No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday, Sept. 27. Ahead of the game, Oregon coach Dan Lanning revealed how he is preparing for Penn State's hostile environment. Oregon Ducks On SIWhat Oregon Coach Dan Lanning Did at Practice to Prepare...The No. 6 Oregon Ducks will face off against the No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday, Sept. 27, for a top-10 matchup. Not only will the game be a rematch

He'd certainly be on a hot seat right now with his loss last week. But getting absolutely embarrassingly demolished by Oregon in week 2 probably did him in before the more recent loss. Oregon didn't truly break Jimmy Lake either... But it is amusing to make a list of coaches who played Oregon and then were fired before the end of the season.

I'm anticipating Davidson and Hill to get a LOT more reps as the year goes on. They are making some pretty good leaps in their abilities. Other interesting note... Riggs had some good runs in garbage time with a two back set up and Davidson was a blocking back. That wasn't the first time we saw a two back formation as earlier in the season we saw a couple different ball carriers get a carry with Limar acting as a runningback blocker. I will be keeping an eye on any two Runningback formations.

why would he want UCLA?? it's as big of a mess as Ok State

Now I know that Noah has been hurt, but our running backs are very average. An Oregon offense should have a killer RB, to make it that much harder for the defense. Imagine if we had a Reuben Droughns right now, or a LaMichael James? We would go crazy on offense... What we have are suitable, but nobody has really stood out...until this last game. We know that Jordon Davison is nails inside the five yard line, and his blocking on pass protection has improved...but he had a couple of ten yard runs that gave me great optimism going forward. He had some shimmy, and great vision to make a four yard gain go ten yards, and we did not see that before. Since he did it twice--he is learning at game speed. He had the second-most snaps at RB this last game, and I wonder if he will break out and take the spot?

Oregon didn't break Mike Gundy. Mike Gundy and/or OSU's refusal to recognize the new reality of NIL broke him....btw He's a man, he's 58.