Dan Lanning got a close-up look at what Oregon’s running back room can do when the depth chart gets squeezed.
On Oct. 31 against then-No. 20 Northwestern, sophomore Jordon Davison went down after hauling in a pass near the sideline and absorbing a hard hit in the first quarter. He later emerged from the locker room in street clothes and on crutches, and he did not return for the second half.
That opened the door for true freshman Brandon Smith, who made the most of it. Smith finished with a team-high 82 rushing yards and a touchdown on only eight carries, giving Oregon a needed spark in a game that turned physical fast.
Lanning said he expected a bruising night from Northwestern, and the injuries piled up on both sides. Even Northwestern sophomore safety Jon Jon Stevens was hurt while trying to bring Smith down in the third quarter, leaving a frightening scene when Stevens stayed motionless on the field. He was able to get to his feet shortly after, responded to trainers, and was eventually carted off through Autzen Stadium’s tunnel in Eugene, Oregon.
“A couple of our guys got banged up just within the play of the game. I also want to acknowledge that I shared a moment there where I think everybody in the stadium felt something similar when you saw Jon Jon Stevens go down for them.”
Lanning also made it clear he was thinking about both Stevens and Davison in that moment, while also wishing Smith had gotten more work during the prior practice week.
“You're sitting there thinking, ‘Man, I pray this kid’s okay. I hope he's going to be all right,’" Lanning continued.
"To see him get up and go walk off was great. But that's just evidence of how physical this game was.
And what's tough, we talk about guys like Brandon (Smith) or Dink (Da'Jaun Riggs); those guys that are getting those third and fourth reps. Those are a lot of reps that they execute today that they didn't get in practice.”
Da’Juan Riggs also had to absorb a bigger role than usual. The junior finished with three rushing yards on six carries, and while the box score hardly pops, Lanning said Riggs handled the unexpected workload with the right mindset.
Lanning said, "They had to get the mental rep right and be able to execute the mental rep. They did an outstanding job of that.
Our coaches did a good job of coaching on the sideline to make them able to have a performance like that. And every big run is going to involve somebody stranded a little bit harder for a big block.”
As a group, Oregon’s running backs totaled 105 rushing yards and one touchdown on 28 carries, good for 3.8 yards per attempt. The Ducks will need more from that unit in their biggest test of the 2026 season on Saturday, Nov. 7, when they travel to Ohio Stadium to face No.
11 Ohio State at 12:30 p.m. PT on CBS.
Ohio State enters the game after a 30-18 upset loss to USC on Oct. 31, its first outing without junior quarterback Julian Sayin. Sayin has been out indefinitely since suffering a right-throwing-arm and shoulder injury on Oct. 17.
Lanning said Oregon will continue to monitor Davison’s status heading into the first Big Ten injury report on Wednesday at 5 p.m. PT.
"Our status report will come out on Wednesday,” Lanning said on Monday when asked about it. “You know, don't think it's long-term with Jordon, but you guys will find out when the injury report comes out.”
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