In case you missed an interesting development over the weekend, arguably the best defensive end in the country, Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux, was injured during the Ducks’ opening game against Fresno State. It happened in the first quarter as the future first-rounder was rolled up on.
He tried to come back in the game, but was later shelved for the remainder of the contest and seen on the sidelines in street clothes and wearing a walking boot. He was having his usual game-wrecking game prior to the injury, and without him, the Ducks had to persevere and tough out a seven-point win against the Bulldogs.
Now it’s turn the page time, and many are wondering if Thibodeaux will be ready when the Ducks fly into Ohio Stadium to take on a top-five ranked Buckeye squad. Generally, coming out in a walking boot does not equate to a tight turnaround of being able to play in the following week’s contest, but maybe it was just precautionary.
We do have a little bit of an update, but it’s about what we figured it would be so close to the event. When appearing before the media on Monday, Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal provided a status on Thibodeaux and kept the door open to him working his way back.
“He’s improving, so it’ll be a day-to-day thing, and by Tuesday or Wednesday I’ll give you guys an update on him,” Said Cristobal. “He got rolled up on him, you guys saw it on film. One of their linemen had driven one of our guys into the ground — he rolled into the back of his legs — caught his ankle a little bit. So, he had an ankle sprain and that’s what we’re working through.”
Obviously, we’ll keep an eye on what kind of update we get on Thibodeaux from the head coach here around Tuesday or Wednesday, but don’t expect more than a day-to-day status leading all the way into the game Saturday.
And, according to the depth chart, Oregon still has him listed as a starter, so there’s that as well.
Oregon’s chances of winning this game by getting to the quarterback and getting push into the backfield on running plays go down significantly if Thibodeaux is unavailable for the game.
More to come. Here’s to hoping the best player on Oregon’s team can go full speed, and we get to see two teams at their best duking it out Saturday afternoon.
List
Ohio State football game-by-game win probabilities updated by ESPN FPI
