Oregon Football: Quarterback Braxton Burmeister Will Start vs UCLA Bruins

The Oregon Ducks will have Quarterback Braxton Burmeister under center for the third straight week vs UCLA.

Oregon Head Coach Willie Taggart said there is not a sense of panic after dropping back to back games and the team is looking ahead to the rest of the season, “We’re just 4-3. There are five games left. They’re five winnable games. They are there. Let’s wake up, get excited and go play some football.”

Quarterback Justin Herbert has been practicing with the team this week, but is still recovering from a broken collarbone. He likely won’t play against UCLA, but the 4-6 week timetable for recovery may have him back for Utah or Washington. Braxton Burmeister was somewhat thrown into the fire at Quarterback two weeks ago.

Burmeister is preparing as best he can and that is where the Coaching Staff steps in. Willie Taggart said there is a process to bringing in a still developing QB, “You’ve gotta make sure we’re doing what’s best for him. We have to be smart in what we ask for him to do. We need him to run our Offense and take care of the football.”

Despite the inexperience that we have all seen the last two weeks on the field, Taggart has confidence in Burmeister and his ability to improve this week from the Practice Field to the Game, “He’s a young pup. He’s learning. He’ll be better. I have a feeling Braxton’s going to have of a game this week.”

The lesson this season for Oregon has been preparation. The preparation for ‘next man up’ and the Coaches and Players have talked about the accountability factor on more than one occasion in the first two months of the 2017 season, “I think our guys(this season) with the injuries see that opportunities can come at the blink of an eye. If your not ready it’s not on the coach, it’s on you. Make sure your ready and locked in.”

Next: Jordan Bell Scores Eight Points in Golden State Debut

Oregon Football travels to UCLA on Saturday for a 1 pm Pacific Time Kickoff on Pac-12 Network.

Quotes obtained first hand at Oregon Football Practice