Oregon’s quarterback situation is still fluid
The weekly quarterback mystery is becoming something of a theme for the Oregon Ducks this season.
Oregon wasn’t saying which quarterback — or how many — it plans to play Saturday afternoon when the Ducks face Washington State at Eugene, Ore.
Vernon Adams Jr., who was named the starter just before the beginning of the season but then broke the index finger on his throwing hand in the opener, sat out last weekend’s 41-24 victory at Colorado.
In his place, the Ducks rotated Jeff Lockie, Adams’ backup who was also Marcus Mariota’s backup last season, and sophomore Taylor Alie, a former walk-on. Neither quarterback had a particularly spectacular outing against the Buffaloes, but the Ducks were able to effectively run the ball for the win.
“I think we know what is going to happen, and what we’re going to do,” Ducks Coach Mark Helfrich said after practice Thursday. “But it’s not set in granite right now.”
Friday’s games
Brenden Motley and Isaiah Ford teamed up for three secondquarter touchdown passes and Virginia Tech (3-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) found a winning formula at home again in a 28-13 victory against North Carolina State, which lost its second straight league game after a 4-0 start.
Chase Litton threw two touchdowns and the Marshall defense forced five turnovers to help the Thundering Herd beat Southern Mississippi, 31-10. Devon Johnson had 82 yards rushing and a score and Deandre Reaves 76 yards receiving and a touchdown for Marshall (5-1, 2-0 Conference USA). Southern Miss is 3-3, 1-1.
Etc.
Indiana lifted starting defensive lineman Darius Latham’s suspension, making him eligible to play Saturday at Penn State. Latham was suspended indefinitely last week as he waited for a resolution in a case before the school’s student ethics office. That forced Latham to miss the Hoosiers’ 34-27 loss to top-ranked Ohio State. Latham is tied for the team lead in sacks with two and tackles for loss with five despite missing two games. ... A member of Notre Dame’s last national championship team in 1988 has donated $3 million to endow the defensive backs coaching position. The university announced the gift Friday from Pat and Jana Eilers. Eilers was a two-year starter for the Irish, playing flanker, split end and defensive back.