Oregon Coaching Staff Reviews Running Back Rotation Halfway Through 2021 Season

The Ducks saw a heavy dose of Travis Dye against California in the first game following CJ Verdell's season-ending injury.

When a college football team loses its starting running back for the season, especially one as game-changing as CJ Verdell had been, there is typically a drop off in the overall efficiency and production from the run game for the remainder of that year. But the Oregon Ducks figure to be one of the luckier teams in the country in that they had Travis Dye ready to take control of the run game once Verdell went down.

Obviously, the Ducks would prefer to have Verdell on the field as well, given that he’s been such a reliable back for them over the years and was off to his best start of his career with 406 yards and six touchdowns in his first five games before getting injured against Stanford. But Dye has been electric in his own right, and he showed it Friday night in the win over California, and the coaching staff trusted him to keep the run game afloat.

"He just kept coming," Mario Cristobal said of Dye. "He did whatever was asked of him and did it at a high level — making guys miss and breaking tackles. He just kept churning those feet and driving those knees and was able to get a lot of extra yardage."

Dye picked up 145 yards on the ground on 19 carries against California and got into the end zone once as well. He also led the Ducks with seven catches and 73 receiving yards. They fed him early and often, giving him the first four touches of the game.

It wasn't like Oregon needed Dye to prove himself when Verdell went down. He’s a veteran on the team and has gotten plenty of snaps every year since 2018 and has amassed more than 3,000 all-purpose yards in his career.

"It's been his turn, but now he's the focal point at this particular turn in his career," Cristobal said. "He continues to exceed expectations."

Dye is also a proven leader in the locker room and on the field, and Cristobal praised him as such.

"What is not seen on camera is what he does on the sidelines and in the locker room to generate positivity, impacting his teammates, and generating energy on the sidelines," Cristobal said. "He's a special guy."

Cristobal mentioned directly after the win over the Golden Bears that Dye's leadership had stood out all week in practice, and the junior from Norco, Calif., even delivered a message to the team before the game.

"His message was strong and from the heart, and I think it really carried through and showed up in the fourth quarter," Cristobal said in the postgame press conference.

Dye is having to be the lead back for the second year in a row as Verdell missed some time last season with a thumb injury, but he never had a performance as RB1 like he did on Friday. That’s partially because he had never had the amount of carries that he did in the past two games in Verdell's absence, as well as the responsibility of being the primary ball-carrier.

Oregon's running back room was expected to consist of a heavy dose of Verdell and Dye with some flakes of Trey Benson, Seven McGee, and Byron Cardwell mixed in as the Ducks were building their first organizational chart in fall camp. The three young backs have seen scattered playing time in different spots throughout this season, but with Verdell's injury, they are expected to start getting some more touches.

Cristobal confirmed that Benson is healthy and will ready to go and in the rotation this week.

Cardwell was the only other running back to get carries in the Cal game, picking up 19 yards. He was also impressive in pass protection when he was on the field.

Joe Moorhead said that the three backs each present a different skillset and that they will all be positive contributors moving forward. The Ducks may ask for that positive contribution a bit sooner rather than later with a matchup against UCLA looming this weekend.

UCLA possesses one of the best run defenses in the country, allowing just 91.0 rushing yards per game. The Ducks were victims of the Bruins' stingy run defense in their matchup last year, suffocating the Ducks to just 88 yards on the ground. 

There's ton of tape on Dye available, but the Ducks could surprise UCLA by swapping in someone like Cardwell or McGee or Benson to spice up the run game. Cardwell showed his shiftiness in the fourth quarter of the Cal game, McGee showed his route-running abilities and soft hands against Arizona, and Benson displayed his strength against Stony Brook when powering through for a touchdown.

As phenomenal as Dye has been, he can't be relied on to be on the field for every drive, especially against a physical defense like UCLA. You won't see many offenses in football at any level only hand the ball off to one running back, so it's time to see what the young guys can do.

At the same time, Dye has a chance to raise his game to the next level and take the baton that Verdell carried in the first five games to the finish line. 

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