CJ Verdell – Noteworthy
Oregon coach Mario Cristobal says redshirt freshman running back CJ Verdell is just “scratching the surface” for what he can become. Verdell ran for 187 yards and four touchdowns, and also caught a scoring pass as Oregon defeated Oregon State 55-15 Friday in a Civil War victory that was marred by quarterback Justin Herbert’s first-half injury. Herbert threw for 102 yards and a touchdown before he appeared to injure his shoulder or upper arm on a sack and left the field on a cart. The Ducks (8-4, 5-4 Pac-12) now await bowl selection having already been eliminated from contention for a berth in the conference championship game. Verdell’s five touchdowns were the most for a Duck since 2012. Travis Dye ran for 199 yards and two additional touchdowns for Oregon. “He just keeps on getting better and better,” Cristobal said about Verdell.
The loss ended the season for the Beavers (2-10, 1-8) in coach Jonathan Smith’s first year as coach.
“The game itself, you can look at it from a lot of different reasons for it not going our way – in the run game, both sides of the ball, rough. Opportunity to finish some drives, we didn’t do it. Momentum, never really came on our side,” Smith said. “So that is not the standard. We are going to continue to work and look forward to building on this thing.” It may have been the final Civil War for Herbert, who could forgo his senior year to declare for the NFL draft. He is widely considered one of the top prospects at the position, but could opt to stay at Oregon for the chance to play with his younger brother Patrick, a four-star tight end who has committed to the Ducks. Herbert was replaced by backup Braxton Burmeister for the second half. Ducks coach Mario Cristobal said afterward he would not have an update on Herbert’s condition until the junior QB got back to Eugene for additional tests. – AP College Football