Oregon Ducks Noah Whittington Ran 'Through A Man's Face' Says Coach Dan Lanning

Oregon Ducks running back Noah Whittington made his presence felt in the win over the Illinois Fighting Illini. Oregon coach Dan Lanning complimented Whittington's physical touchdown. "When you get an opportunity to run through a man's face, there's nothing better than that,” said Lanning.

Oct 26, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks running back Noah Whittington (6) scores a touchdown during the first half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

The No. 1 Oregon Ducks have a clear alpha in the backfield with running back Jordan James but you wouldn't have thought so by the way their backup running back performed in Saturday's 38-9 win over the No. 20 Illinois Fighting Illini.

Noah Whittington trucked over defenders en route to his best game of the season in the victory, finishing with seven carries for 56 yards and a touchdown along with two catches for 20 yards and another score.

Oct 26, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks running back Noah Whittington (6) breaks away from Illinois Fighting Illini defensive back Miles Scott (10) for a touchdown during the first half at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

He bulldozed head-first over Illinois defensive back Miles Scott on his 18-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give Oregon a 28-3 lead. The play caught the attention of college football fans across on social media.

Take a look at the score:

QUACK. QUACK.
NOAH WHITTINGTON JUST RAN HIM OVER FOR THE TD. pic.twitter.com/IS98588HI1

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 26, 2024

Oregon coach Dan Lanning offered up praise for Whittington's scoring run while speaking to the media after the win.

“Yeah, it's awesome seeing guys play physical," Lanning said. "And I think that's something our team prides itself in. And when you get an opportunity to run through a man's face, there's nothing better than that.”

However, Lanning's compliments for Whittington didn't end there.

"I mean, this guy does everything right every single day, works his absolute tail off," Lanning said. "I was really thrilled to see him have some success tonight, and he’ll be the first one to tell you, it starts with the guys up front for him. But he ran hard, right? He created some big plays, had a huge catch, obviously, last week, was able to turn that into some really positive runs this week. So, what I love is that everybody in that running back room is just as excited for his success and even (Da’Juan Riggs) when he came in there at the end of the game and created some success for himself as well."

Oregon’s Noah Whittington, right, beats plays Illinois’ Xavier Scott into the end zone for a second quarter score at Autzen. / Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Through eight games this season, Whittington has tallied 61 carries for 270 yards and two touchdowns this season. He's added 14 grabs for 86 yards and two scores. He's found the end zone three times over the past two games.

This season, James has posted 136 carries for 800 yards and eight scores. He's also tallied 13 catches for 90 yards. He remains the workhorse in the Oregon offense, but if Whittington can continue his own production, the Ducks will arguably have one of the nation's top one-two punches out of the backfield, if they don't already.

No. 1 Oregon will visit the defending champion the Michigan Wolverines at the Big House in Ann Arbor on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on CBS and Paramount+.

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