Even with a rash of injuries, Oregon has multiple exploitable matchup advantages against Minnesota.
The 6-3, unranked Gophers come to town for a nationally televised Friday night game at Autzen Stadium, 6:00 p.m. PT on Fox.
The nature of the game, a short week of rest coupled with a long injury list, dictates that Oregon embraces adversity rather than rushing some banged-up stars back into the lineup.
Quarterback Dante Moore is likely to start despite the broken nose he suffered against Wisconsin. He stated midweek that it's still sore but healing. A second mild concern is that he appeared to pull up at the end of his 49-yard Zone Read keeper in the second half against Iowa.
It looked as though he was experiencing some tightness in his hamstring at the end of the play, though nothing official has come out. It may have been a case of a typically nonrunning quarterback protecting the ball and his body, but it's something to watch prior to the game. Does he have his normal movement and footwork?
The Ducks won't need him to break off any 49-yard runs to beat the Gophers. The weather forecast has looked more and more favorable as the game approaches, currently a zero percent chance of rain, minimal wind, temperatures in the 50s dropping to the high 40s, leaving the Ducks free to trust their potent running game while going over the top occasionally.
It's the rest of the long injury list where the Ducks are likely to be conservative.
Evan Stewart, Dakorien Moore, Gary Bryant, Alex Harkey, Devon Jackson and Kenyon Sadiq don't need to play. The official Big Ten-mandated injury report doesn't come out until two hours before gametime, but the reasonable expectation is that this group remains doubtful unless they're suited up and doing high-knee agility drills a half hour before kickoff.
Sione Laulea missed the Iowa game and he'd fit in that same category. The Golden Gophers are neither deep or explosive at wide receiver, sp the Ducks can be conservative with him as well.
Dillon Gresham, Jack Ressler, Trey McNutt and Jayden Limar have been out for a while and are likely to remain out. Kyler Kasper had to have surgery and he's out for the season.
Oregon's remaining weapons are more than adequate to challenge the 25.5-point spread. Getting any of their injured/rehabilitating starters back into the lineup would be a bonus, with the goal remaining to win out and play their best football in the postseason.