When Oregon’s starting quarterback Justin Herbert walked off the field at the end of the first quarter, the Ducks’ worst nightmare was coming true: they would be without their starting quarterback as they entered the toughest stretch of their schedule.
With Herbert’s fractured collarbone set to keep him out for 4-6 weeks, Oregon will turn to either redshirt senior Taylor Alie or true freshman Braxton Burmeister to run the offense. The Ducks offense will have to adjust to life without their starting quarterback, but it’s unknown who will start.
“Our offense doesn’t change and we go out and revise just like any of us would do [with] our networks or business,” quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo said. “If you went out sick for two weeks or three weeks or whatever, they’re not just going to fold up shop and take off.”
In the Ducks’ 45-24 win over California, Alie came in after Herbert’s first-quarter injury. Then Alie went down with an injury, and the Ducks called on Burmeister.
The Ducks only threw the ball 14 times after Herbert’s first-quarter injury, with Alie accounting for 13 of those attempts. With either Alie or Burmeister set to start at quarterback on Saturday, Oregon will probably deploy a similar offensive strategy. The Ducks will rely even moreso on their running backs, which means opposing defenses will look to gameplan for an even heavier Oregon run game.
“I’m sure they will — they’ve already been doing that with our run game,” running back Kani Benoit said. “I don’t expect anything else — I’m sure they’ll do that — and we’ll find a gameplan to get around it.”
Choosing between the two quarterbacks is going to be a difficult decision for the Ducks’ coaching staff. By picking Alie, the Ducks would have someone who has some experience at the collegiate level, but by picking Burmeister, Oregon would be allowing the freshman to get some game experience in the Pac-12.
Burmeister and Alie were neck-and-neck for the backup spot behind Herbert during fall camp, but Alie ended up winning the backup job; however, the coaches say that a starter against Washington State will be decided during the week before the game.
“I don’t know if it was as clear cut as it may have seemed,” Arroyo said of the competition between Alie and Burmeister. “I don’t know if there’s anything that really sets them truly that far apart.”
As a freshman, Burmeister is much more unknown than Alie, so naturally a lot of discussion has revolved around the first-year quarterback. Giving Burmeister a chance to start will give him the ability to get minutes under his belt and be more comfortable not just playing in competitive games but building trust with his teammates.  
The talk around Burmeister has been extremely positive, but the same can be said about Alie.
“Braxton — he’s gotten better ever since the spring,” head coach Willie Taggart said. “Each week he continued to get better. Same as Taylor and Mike Irwin and anyone else we’ve had back there.”
Whether it’s Burmeister or Alie who gets the nod, the message from Arroyo about the offense is consistent.
“Nothing changes.”
Follow Shawn Medow on Twitter @ShawnMedow