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The Valero Alamo Bowl was not a banner performance for the Oregon Ducks. Nearly 500 yards of offense and over 30 points were a nice way to end the season, but the Oklahoma Sooners were able to find more success, putting up 47 points and almost 600 yards of offense.
It’s easy, and completely justified, to blame the lack of depth on Oregon’s roster for the loss, and while it’s a tough way to end a once-promising 2021 season, there should be no blame or hard feelings about the defeat.
While it was unfortunate to watch play out, there was one good thing that came from the game. Running back Travis Dye cemented his place in the Oregon Ducks history books.
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During the first half of a game in which Dye stood as one of the lone trustworthy sources of Oregon offense with 181 total yards and a touchdown, the junior RB surpassed the 3,000-yard mark for his career, becoming just the 5th player in Duck’s history to do so. Dye now stands alongside Royce Freeman, LaMichael James, Kenyon Barner, and Derek Loville in the record books.
We don’t yet know if Dye will be returning to Eugene for his senior season, but if he does, his legacy with the Ducks could grow even larger. Let’s take a look at the career numbers:
Freeman is first in Oregon history with 5,621 total rushing yards and 64 touchdowns. James follows him with 5,082 yards and 57 TDs; Barner is next with 3,623 yards and 48 TDs; Loville follows with 3,296 yards and 45 TDs.
Then there is Dye, who now has 3,111 career rushing yards and 29 total touchdowns. Should he decide tomorrow that his career at Oregon is done, it’s safe to say that he will go down in history as one of the best RBs to come through the program.
If he should return, then it could add to an already great career.
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