Although right guard transfer Matthew Bedford has been questionable to play in every game for the Oregon Ducks this season, he has yet to jog onto the field. In this week’s game against UCLA, it seems Bedford will be absent once again. Oregon coach Dan Lanning provided the update on Bedford’s injury during his weekly Monday press conference.
“He actually got dinged the other day in practice, so just trying to be aware of where he’s at,” Lanning said. If he’s able to help us this week, he will, but always we will put our players first and see where they’re at in that process.”
Lanning didn’t declare Bedford out, and as he said, there’s a chance the Indiana transfer plays, but after suffering an injury in practice, it’s unlikely we see an already injured player return.
After the first two games of the Ducks’ season, Oregon was aching for Bedford to return. The Oregon O-line allowed seven sacks and blocked for an average of 108 total rushing in their first two games against Boise State. Against Oregon State, things got much better for the Ducks’ O-line, as they allowed zero sacks and blocked for 240 rushing yards.
The key difference against Oregon State was the shift of Poncho Laloulu to center (he played RG in the first two games) and the substitution of Nishad Strother to LG (Marcus Harper II slid from LG to RG). This alignment put all five linemen in their natural positions, and the Ducks’ offense was much more successful.
When Bedford returns, he’d likely take Strother’s spot, and Harper would move back to LG, but if the Strother–Laloulu–Harper interior O-line continues to perform the way they did against Oregon State, Bedford may not have a starting spot waiting for him when he returns.
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