INDIANAPOLIS — C.J. Verdell couldn’t be sure what happened.
He had been on the attack, churning toward the goal line against Stanford, when he got chopped down. Pain shot through his ankle, and Verdell knew he couldn’t pop right back up the way he normally does. The Oregon running back pounded the turf in frustration.
There was no way to know the severity of the hit he’d just taken.
Three games after Verdell tore through Ohio State for 161 yards, reminding everybody how talented he is, Verdell dislocated his ankle, fracturing his fibula in the process.