Time-and-time again injuries have nearly derailed Oregon football’s success this season, forcing players such as Dawson Jaramillo, Bradyn Swinson and Nate Heaukulani into starting roles. 

In Saturday’s 52-29 win over the Colorado Buffaloes, running back Byron Cardwell was the change of speed the Ducks needed in wake of CJ Verdell’s season-ending injury.  
His yards per carry mark of 18.1 seemed unsustainable, but the Freshman back broke through the Buffaloes front-seven time-and-time again, finishing with 128 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. 

Depth is a driving force for the Ducks climb to 7-1, but it can leave individual players uncertain of their roles. Cardwell, who committed to Oregon on Jan. 25, 2021, came to Eugene with a seemingly murky path to a starting spot. 

Within the last nine months, he gained clarity.

Along with Verdell’s season ending injury, former running back Cyrus Habibi-Likio transferred to Boise State and Sean Dollars sustained a knee injury in training camp.  

Now, the Ducks entrusted Cardwell with greater responsibility in the backfield. Replacing Verdell’s 406 yards and six touchdowns on 5.2 yards per carry through six games would require a joint effort — although Travis Dye has seemingly needed no help.

Dye came through in the Ducks’ onslaught victory providing 122 all-purpose yards, two touchdowns on the ground and one through the air. 

While the Ducks had many choices for the open complementary slot behind Dye, including Seven McGee and Trey Benson, Cardwell has received that role thus far, albeit a truncated one until today.

Since Verdell’s injury, he had nine carries for 40 yards. He surpassed that mark on the opening drive, taking three carries for 63 yards, topped off with a 34-yard house call. 

Cardwell burst through a gaping hole courtesy of a double-team block from Walk and right-guard Dawson Jaramillo. The freshman back went nearly untouched into the endzone as the Buffaloes’ defense lacked gap awareness and tackling discipline on the back-end. Safety Mark Perry took a poor angle as Cardwell galloped by. 

“I have a lot of confidence in my o-line so I let them make their blocks while I look for the safety and make my reads,” Cardwell said. 

Standing at 6-foot 203-pounds, Cardwell presents himself as a stereotypically strong between-the-tackles runner. Today he showed the ability to find the outside edge as well. 

Cardwell added another chunk play on the Ducks opening drive of the second half. He took a half-back stretch 31 yards down the right sideline, setting up a first and goal at the four. That turned into a rushing touchdown for Dye as the Ducks mounted a 24-point margin. 
“Ever since camp we knew Byron would be ready to play this year, it was just about him getting comfortable with the offense,” head coach Mario Cristobal said. “He’s played really well in practice and had some monster runs today.”

Cardwell benefitted from a Ducks offensive line that dominated the trenches all afternoon. Along with a running scheme that featured a heavy dose of shotgun sets which kept the Buffaloes’ secondary on their toes and allowed the backs to gain momentum before exploding into the open field. 

“I came to Oregon for a reason,” Cardwell said.

Saturday’s performance validated his decision.