Based upon the common discourse from the Oregon coaching staff this week, Royce Freeman, plain and simple, was not supposed to do what he did Saturday night.
Following a performance in which Freeman carried the ball 29 times for 169 yards and four touchdowns, the clear question became whether or not the true freshman would continue to sustain that type of workload. And the answer was no.
There were too many weapons at the disposal of Scott Frost and Mark Helfrich for a committee of ball carriers not to be in the works.
Yet, with Thomas Tyner not traveling and Byron Marshall working primarily out of the slot due to Keanon Lowe’s absence, it was Freeman, just under a week after setting career-marks, pounding the ball drive-after-drive.
Rushing the ball 22 times throughout the course of the game, Freeman ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns, acting as the motor behind the Ducks’ best offensive showing of the year.
“If we’ve had a back in my time at Oregon that can have 20 carries a week its Royce,” Frost, who acknowledged that Freeman’s heavy role was due to injuries, said. “Hopefully we’ll be at full strength going forward so we don’t have to shoulder. But he’s been a great weapon and addition for us as a freshman.”
It’s starting to feel like an annual script for the Imperial, Calif. native who was just appearing in his first training camp at the collegiate level in August. It is now five straight games in which he has carried the ball at least 18 times and the third straight instance in which he’s passed the century mark.
So while the rhetoric behind using a committee of backs remains, Freeman continues to solidify his role right next to the Ducks’ other individual who constantly provides an impactful script every week.
“He’s been ballin’ these last couple weeks,” Marshall said. “I can’t put my finger on the right exact word but for a true freshman he doesn’t play like a true freshman, which we really appreciate.”
Marshall, who has experienced a role revival this season due to Freeman’s sudden emergence in the preseason, caught four passes for 133 yards to go along with 57 rushing yards and a touchdown on the night. Yet it’s what he couldn’t do as a running back that might be the exact word he couldn’t pinpoint.
As the game wears on, Freeman, unlike other backs in the Oregon’s recent history, seems to get better.
“Royce is the type of back that gets stronger as the game gets along,” Frost said.
With the attack virtually feeding the ball to Freeman’s skill set every play, Oregon’s offense has opened up entirely, and in doing so has averaged over 48 points per game the last three weeks. Which bodes well for the type of guy who agrees with his offensive coordinator’s line of thinking.
“I feel like that is my strong suit,” Freeman said. “I try not to think about how many carries I got or how many carries I didn’t get so I mean as the game goes on I’m trying to wear the defense down and trying to get it in the end zone. ”
So it was on Friday night at Cal, just eight games into his first collegiate season that Freeman was breaking the all-time rushing record for an Oregon freshman while the previous holder was back in Eugene. With 748 yards to his credit now, Freeman broke the record Tyner set last year and is well on his way to reach 1,000 yards on the season. With his two touchdown as well, Freeman moved just a touchdown shy from tying the touchdown record Lamichael James set at Oregon as a freshman with 14.
Yet you wouldn’t know that any of those accomplishments were present when speaking to him.
“I got a long way to even get to the consideration of his level,” Freeman said. “He’s a great running back here and I’m trying to keep pushing. I haven’t really accomplished anything yet.”
Though he maybe hasn’t accomplished anything from his perspective, one thing is clear.
“He comes to work every day, he works hard,” Marshall said. “He’s just out there getting better and when it comes game time he just want to be special. He is.”
Follow Justin Wise on Twitter @JustinFWise