The sellout crowd — as if any other kind exists at Autzen Stadium — of 59,372 briefly silenced themselves in the first quarter as LaMichael James lay on the UCLA 1-yard line.
James had rushed for six yards and a first down on the previous play but was slow to get up after Bruin defenders Tony Dye and David Carter nailed him. No cause for alarm, Ducks fans — the wind was merely knocked out of him.
Darron Thomas ran for no gain on first-and-goal. No problem.
Remene Alston, indefinitely promoted to second-string running back, punched it in on second down. Nate Costa ran the swinging-gate two-point conversion in to give No. 1 Oregon a 15-0 lead; it would go on to crush UCLA 60-13.
Alston carried eight times for 75 yards and three touchdowns, the last stat a career high.
“I don’t know if that was the best (game I’ve ever played), but it felt the funnest,” Alston said.
Maybe not his best game — perhaps a revelation to fans and media. Alston came into the UCLA game with 229 rushing yards on 43 carries this season. His 9.4-yard-per-carry average against the Bruins easily bested his season average (4.9 yards per carry).
The Greensboro, N.C., native’s capabilities are certainly known amongst his teammates.
“Rem ran hard (today). I love watching Rem run,” center Jordan Holmes said. “Always runs hard, always plays hard whenever he gets in there. He’s just fun to watch.”
And his coaches.
“He’s a kid that is a fifth-year senior. He’s been a great leader, he’s the captain of the running backs and really has been a great leader in that group,” head coach Chip Kelly said. “To see him come in there and play the way he did and rip off a couple runs like that, it was awesome to see.”
His position coach, Gary Campbell, was also effusive in his praise.
“He stepped up when he needed to,” Campbell said. “I don’t know when exactly Kenjon (Barner) is going to be back, so we may need him.”
Given playing time this season, Alston has responded.
Despite a minor foot injury that set him back during fall camp, he rushed for a career-high 110 yards on 21 carries against New Mexico. That, of course, was in clean-up duty.
When Barner went down with a concussion against Washington State, Alston naturally moved into his slot in the depth chart. His performance against UCLA, Campbell said, was indicative of his level of preparation and devotion to his craft in practice.
“He’s always done that. Nothing has changed in the way he’s practiced or performed in practice,” Campbell said. “I think he’s gotten better in practice, but his effort has been the same, as it’s been all year.
“I told him, what I want to see him do is break more tackles and make more of a concerted effort to stay on his feet. I’ve seen — a lot of times I’m watching the video where he came out to make a big run, then he kind of lost his balance and gave up. I made him promise me to be a determined runner.”
That promise was fulfilled early in the fourth quarter when Alston broke several arm tackles on a 42-yard run that the Ducks later capitalized on with a touchdown.
Should Alston continue making those types of runs, Barner’s presence — in the eyes of the fans — won’t be missed as much.
“It’s tough when you lose a guy like Kenjon. He’s such a great player,” Holmes said. “But you know, our offense is built around situations like this. One guy can step in and do a great job because we work so hard and our guys are so talented, whether it’s the first-string guy or the third-string guy.”
“If someone gets hurt, it’s not a crisis, it’s just an opportunity,” Alston said. “(I’m) just saying Remene, OK, let’s go. It’s up to you.”
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