There were reasons to wonder about Oregon’s rushing attack in Saturday’s season opener against Eastern Washington. As it turned out, none of them were legitimate.
Yes, the Ducks were without offensive linemen Hroniss Grasu and Jake Fisher, after both were drafted by NFL teams. And running back Thomas Tyner wasn’t with the team for preseason camp.
But the UO offense didn’t skip a beat in the 61-42 win over Eastern Washington, rushing for 485 yards and six touchdowns. That included a career-high 180 yards for sophomore workhorse Royce Freeman, who scored three touchdowns and didn’t have a single carry for lost yardage among his 21 rushes.