Oregon Football: 3 bold predictions for October 2021

2. CJ Verdell enters the Heisman race

It’s only taken four games, but CJ Verdell has already surpassed his rushing totals from a year ago and he looks to be well on his way to reaching 1,000 yards for the third time in his career.

Verdell has been quiet, however, outside of the Ohio State game where he rushed for 161 yards and two touchdowns, but I think the staff has been saving him for some of the big games. In fact, he had just 12 carries against Stony Brook and only 11 against Arizona. He did have 18 in the opener against Fresno State, but it’s always good to gain some confidence before big games.

We saw what he was capable of against the best team on Oregon’s schedule and he’s going to do much more of that in October against top conference rivals. He has rushed for over 70 yards just twice this season but he’s averaging a healthy 5.6 yards per carry and when he’s trusted with a big workload, he delivers.

Against Stanford, Cal, UCLA, and Colorado, Verdell is going to average well over 100 yards per game and probably approach the 1,000-yard mark by the end of the month.

He’ll also be a threat in the passing game and truly enter his name into the Heisman conversation before the calendar hits November.