The Oregon Ducks have finally reached their second bye week of the season after playing eight straight conference games without a reprieve. However, the rest and recuperation aren't the best news coming out of Eugene this week.
On Tuesday morning, Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson shared his own version of an injury update on his Instagram story: the star wideout is back.
Tez Johnson via Instagram stories! Looks like Dillon Gabriel’s go-to guy is going to be back for Oregon’s game vs UW! pic.twitter.com/35E3JskcEs
— sam (@samfarisss) November 19, 2024
Johnson went down hard after snagging a first-down catch against the Michigan Wolverines in Week 10. Immediately, fans feared the worst and assumed that the wideout would be done for the season. However, a few days after the devastating injury, Oregon shared that Johnson would return, just not right away.
While Oregon is on a bye in Week 13, the Ducks are preparing to host the Washington Huskies – their long-lived rivals and the only conference team that Dan Lanning has failed to defeat so far.
Oregon and Washington were part of the Pac-12 before making their way to the Big Ten this season and through his first two years of coaching the Ducks, Lanning lost to the Huskies on all three occasions that they shared a field.
Since Johnson's injury, quarterback Dillon Gabriel hasn't looked quite like the possible Heisman candidate, losing your go-to guy can have that effect. However, with Johnson's pending return to the field and Oregon sitting at 11-0 overall, Gabriel and the Ducks may just be able to slay the beast that has stood in Lanning's way.
Will Dan Lanning finally get his first win over the Washington Huskies in Week 14?
— Autzen Zoo (@Autzen_Zoo) November 18, 2024
Oregon and Washington are scheduled to kick off on Saturday, Nov. 30, the time of the game and where it will be broadcast have yet to be announced. So far this season, the Huskies have gone 6-5 overall but are also on a bye in Week 13.