The No. 5 Oregon Ducks are set to play No. 1 Indiana in the CFP. The Ducks could be using defensive players at running back for the game.
The No. 5 Oregon offense didn't exactly light up the No. 4 Texas Tech defense in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Orange Bowl, but they were able to take advantage of four Red Raiders turnovers to earn a 23-0 win on New Year's Day.
The Ducks are set to play another stout defense on Friday night when they take on No. 1 Indiana in the CFP semifinal at the Peach Bowl. The undefeated Hoosiers have not allowed an opponent to put up a score in the double digits since Penn State earned 24 points on Nov. 8.
IU demolished No. 9 Alabama 38-3 in the CFP quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl last week. The Crimson Tide entered the game knowing the running game was their weakness. Alabama rushed 17 times for 23 yards in the defeat.
Oregon has some concern about its rushing attack before playing Indiana. The unit rushed 47 times for 64 yards and two touchdowns against Texas Tech.
The Ducks’ leading rusher against TTU, Jordon Davison, has been ruled out for Friday night's game, per Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated. Oregon's leading rusher, Noah Whittington, is questionable to play IU with an undisclosed injury.
"The Oregon RB situation is extremely tenuous tonight," Forde posted on X. "Leading rusher Noah Whittington is questionable; No. 2 Jordon Davison, a banger who excels in the red zone, is out; as are three of the other top five Ducks RBs.”
"If Whittington can't go, the depth chart is freshman Dierre Hill (70 carries) and junior Jay Harris (26 carries)."
Per ESPN's Katie George, Oregon moved two defenders, safety Kilohana Haasenritter and linebacker Brayden Platt, to running back this week to help give the offense depth with injuries to Davidson and Whittington.
Per Pete Thamel of ESPN, Whittingham will be a game-time decision for Friday night.
"Sources have indicated to ESPN that tailback Noah Whittington, who is questionable on the injury report, will be a game-time decision with an undisclosed injury," Thamel wrote. "The Ducks had just three scholarship tailbacks with him, so they added two players."
With depth issues at running back, expect the Ducks to lean heavily on star quarterback Dante Moore. Moore enters the game with the most to gain with a good performance.
The chatter around the NFL world is that IU quarterback and Heisman Trophy-winner Fernando Mendoza is the expected No. 1 pick in April's draft. Moore is projected as the second-best quarterback in the 2026 class.
That could change if Moore lights up IU's defense on Friday night.
Given the state of Oregon's backfield, that's probably the only way the Ducks advance to the national championship to play No. 10 Miami.