If the goal is to feed the studs, Jordon Davison is him

The games they remember are played in November, and Jordon Davison is the key to Oregon going 4-0 and making a run in the postseason.

For crunch-time, playoffs-on-the-line football, the team needs a tighter, more focused identity. For cold weather games against Top 25 opponents and teams with winning records, the Ducks need more consistency and faster starts on offense.

The team is blessed with four good running backs, and two that would be more than capable if they played on a team where they had a bigger role. Noah Whittington, Dierre Hill and Jayden Limar have all contributed to Oregon's success, running for 433, 357 and 249 yards.

Whittington and Hill can be explosive. Against Wisconsin they broke runs for 36 and 14 yards, and Whittington is a good receiver out of the backfield.

But Davison is Oregon's most consistent ball carrier, the one who can create something out of nothing, the one who drives forward, the one who gets hard yards, the one with tremendous contact balance, the guy who drives through the first tackler, won't be denied at the goal line or on third and short.

Against Wisconsin he piled up 16 carries for 102 yards and two touchdowns, the biggest workload any back has had for the Ducks this season.

He's the guy who has the highest concentration of positive runs and the fewest negative runs. He gets the offense ahead of the chains. Will Stein certainly will employ all of his weapons at RB going forward, but for November football, Davison needs to be the bell cow.

The Mater Dei product is quick to the hole and pushes the pile. He's less likely to break for 60 but more likely to produce 10 sixes. In November and particularly against the suspect run defenses of USC (gashed by Notre Dame for 306, knocked back by Illinois for 171) and Washington (187 yards to Michigan, 149 against Ohio State) the Ducks need a physical run game to slow potent offenses.

In Oregon's 99-yard drive for their first touchdown, Number 0 paved the way with runs of 2, 2, 7, 11, 11, 6, 4, 3, then a 3-yard touchdown, nine carries for 49 yards, everyone a positive gain.

Stretch-drive football starts with the ability to assert an offense's will on the ground. The weather Oregon encountered in Autzen last night is the NORM for November and December. The run game endures in rain, wind, ice and snow, particularly when a team boasts a 6-0, 235 power back, who has achieved a program milestone as a true freshman.

Davison's power sets up big shots in the play-action passing game, the explosive, wide-open deep targets that are the most potent part of Dante Moore's arsenal. A clock-grinding running game keeps your defense fresher.

The inside run slows the pass rush and discourages the blitz. Pancho Laloulu, Emmanuel Pregnon and Alex Harkey have been the Webfoots' most consistent run blockers.

It's time for Stein to recognize what's working and lean on it. Davison's hard running could push this Oregon team to a strong finish.