Oregon's Linebacker Troy Dye Will Miss Washington State Game with Thumb Injury

Nothing was said about Dye possibly missing this game after breaking his thumb last week, but he came out onto the field in street clothes while the team warmed up.

A surprising inactive appeared approximately 35 minutes before kickoff of the game between No. 11 Oregon and Washington State — the Ducks star linebacker Troy Dye is on the field, but not dressed in pads, and will not play in the game. 

Dye has been dealing with multiple minor injuries so far this year, and it was announced after last week's game against Washington that he broke his thumb early in the contest, but finished the game out anyway. However, there was nothing said by coaches or players in the days leading up to the game about an issue with Dye's health, so the scratch comes as a big surprise. 

As they get ready to take on the No. 1 scoring offense in the Pac-12, the loss of their leading tackler will definitely hurt Oregon as they try to slow down the Cougar's air-raid offense. So far this season, Dye has 23 total tackles and one interception. 

If Dye ends up sitting out the game, it will cement a 0-3 record for him against the Washington State Cougars. The Ducks currently are subject to a four-year losing streak at the hands of Mike Leach and the Cougars, and they will be looking to end that trend Saturday night at home. 

In his absence, linebackers MJ Cunningham and Sampson Niu will likely take over in his place, but it will be interesting to see if Dru Mathis gets some run as well, as he was finally activated last week, and played in the game against Washington.