As a football fan it's the one thing you fear the most: a run of injuries at one position.
It's happened to the Ducks before. In 2007 they were 8-1 and No. 2 in the country before an upset loss at Arizona, and in the next four games they went through five quarterbacks, down to fourth and fifth-stringers Cody Kempt and Justin Roper by the Civil War.
In 2021 the Ducks got so short of defensive linemen they converted freshman offensive guard Jackson Powers-Johnson to defensive tackle for the Alamo Bowl against Oklahoma. Caleb Williams and the Sooners kicked up all the dust in Texas, rolling to 566 yards of offense and lit them up 47-32.
Under Dan Lanning the Ducks have the best training and conditioning staffs in the country, an excellent medical team. The 2026 squad is deeper and more talented than any group in program history.
Already Oregon has lost Evan Stewart and Dillon Gresham at receiver, while Jurrion Dickey has left the program. Reports are swirling that Dakorien Moore may have suffered an injury at practice.
It won't matter against Oregon State. The Ducks are 34.5-point favorites for the 129th renewal of the Civil War, first played in 1894. The Beavers gave up 466 yards passing in a 45-14 loss to Texas Tech last Saturday; their secondary is porous. Three TTU receivers went over 100 yards.
IN THE BREADBASKET 🍞
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) September 14, 2025
Behren Morton drops Terrance Carter Jr. a beauty in the corner of end zone as @TexasTechFB continues to dominate.#Big12FB | 📺 @CFBONFOX pic.twitter.com/6Pg4qWlsew
Dante Moore and the Oregon receivers, Malik Benson, Gary Bryant Jr., Jeremiah McClellan, Kenyon Sadiq, Cooper Perry, Moore if he's able to go, can feast on this defense. Civil War or not, it should be over early and an aerial onslaught. Dan Lanning could name the score, unless he wants somehow to manufacture some adversity for his young team.
Dierre Hill or Dink Riggs could slide over from running back. That readily solves the problem for this matchup, but the showdown with No. 2 Penn State is 11 days away. The Nittany Lions have A.J. Harris and Zakee Wheatley in the secondary, and a fierce pass rush. The Ducks want to be healthy for that one.
Noah Whittington missed the Northwestern game and the Ducks ran for 176 yards, 5.9 yards a carry. Already this Duck team has suffered some body blows. They're marvelously connected. Quarterback Dante Moore is playing like a man on fire.
Even the best quarterback has to have some weapons around him-- Marcus Mariota went into the 2014-15 National Championship Game missing Darren Carrington, Devon Allen, Pharaoh Brown and Bralon Addison. Addison had been out for the year, so the Ducks had to convert Byron Marshall from running back.
The Ducks picked up four Buckeye turnovers but lost 42-20.
In Corvallis this year the Beavers are struggling. Oregonian beat writer Bill Oram is calling for second-year head coach Trent Bray to be fired.
Intense line of questioning today at Trent Bray's presser 👀@billoram holding OSU's HC accountable for the Beavs' rough start to the season. pic.twitter.com/xb8s1o9tLo
— Preston Hiefield (@PC_Hiefield) September 16, 2025
Despite Oregon's injuries and OSU's persistent issues, there will be no sympathy on either side. Gametime is 12 noon PT on the Big Ten Network from Autzen Stadium, No. 6 versus No. 112.