Justin Guldager knew from a young age that he wanted to go into the field of athletic training.

Ironically, it was his own injuries that convinced him of that.

“Back to like fifth grade, I wondered why the bone fractured in my thumb when I was playing basketball,” Guldager said. “I was just curious, like ‘Why did it happen?’ Throughout middle school, I started to be more and more interested in science.”

After a standout career at nearby Willamette High School where he was a two-sport star, he has found a way to continue playing his favorite sport, baseball, competitively while also pursuing his dream job.

A human physiology major entering his junior year at the University of Oregon, Guldager has used his own experiences as an athlete to advance his career as a trainer. He is currently in his first year working with the Oregon football team as an undergraduate assistant.

Guldager split time starting at first base and designated hitter for Oregon’s club baseball team last spring as the Ducks went on to play in the NBCA World Series and finished runner-up to the club team at the University of Nevada, Reno.

After graduating high school, Guldager had offers from local community colleges such as Lane, Clackamas and Mt. Hood to pitch out of the bullpen, but doing so would have halted his progress as a trainer.

He instead made the decision that so many high school athletes struggle with when entering college: Guldager chose to give up the sport he loved and instead enroll at Oregon to begin the university’s human physiology program.

One year away from the game was enough, and Guldager tried out for the club team prior to his sophomore year at Oregon. Guldager was a first-team all-league first baseman his senior year while playing at Willamette, but during American Legion summer baseball, he was used only as a pitcher. The opportunity to hit the ball again was enticing.

“During American Legion, I never hit; I was a pitcher only,” Guldager said. “I got to club baseball and they said they wanted me on the team because I could hit the ball really well. I thought it was really cool that that’s why they wanted me specifically on the team.”

Justin Guldager (33) is a junior at University of Oregon who splits his time between club baseball and interning with the Oregon athletic department. (courtesy of Justin Guldager)

Now a veteran member of the club team, Guldager is juggling the schedule of being an athlete while working 20 to 30 hours per week with the athletic department and taking a rigorous class schedule that include anatomy and physiology classes.

It’s nothing new for Guldager, who served as the de facto team trainer while also working as one of his team’s top pitchers during his last season with the Eugene Challengers American Legion travel club prior to his freshman year of college.

“Other kids carried around bats and balls … he carried around the med kit,” Challengers head coach Josh Riley said. “He taped ankles up and he did a good job at it and knew what he was doing, It was kind of a blessing for us.”

Guldager was in attendance at a Challengers game last summer when a Eugene player suffered a major knee injury in the middle of a game. The Challengers don’t have a full-time trainer, and Guldager ran down from the stands and began to tend to the player and stabilize his knee so the coaches could continue to focus on the game.

“When you talk about why you get into coaching, he’s kind of that model kid that you hope you get to coach,” Riley said.  

Guldager’s end goal is to keep young athletes healthy. He wants to help others avoid the same injuries he suffered during his career.

“Right now, I really just want to be able to help people,” Guldager said. “That’s been my goal for awhile; I just want to make sure that other athletes are able to play at their highest level.”

Follow Jarrid Denney on Twitter @jarrid_denney

Oregon came up short in a bid for its first conference win of the season on Saturday as the Ducks fell 41-38 to the Colorado Buffalos and dropped to 2-2 on the year. The game served as a monumental win for the Buffalos and was just one of a few nail-biting finishes throughout the conference.

Here’s a rundown of how the Pac-12 schedule played out during week four of the college football season.

Washington 35, Arizona 28 (OT)

Washington survived its first true test of the season after the Wildcats posted 14 points in the fourth quarter to force overtime. The No. 10 Huskies held onto their top 10 ranking thanks to a four-yard touchdown pass from Jake Browning to Dante Pettis that served as the go-ahead score in the extra period. Lavon Coleman went for 181 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, and Arizona quarterback Brandon Dawkins rushed for 176 yards and two touchdowns while throwing for 167 yards and another touchdown through the air.

Utah 31, USC 27

Utah quarterback Troy Williams threw for 270 yards and scored twice as the Utes orchestrated a comeback win over the Trojans at home. Williams led Utah on a 15-play, 93-yard drive before finding Tim Patrick for an 18-yard touchdown with 16 seconds remaining. USC signal caller Sam Darnold tossed for 253 yards and ran for 41 more in his first start, and Patrick went for 100 yards on six catches for Utah.

Boise State 38, Oregon State 24

The Beavers trailed 31-7 after the first half before walk-on freshman Conor Blount took over at quarterback and led Oregon State back into contention with a 11-for-18, 138 yard performance. Boise State used an 11-play drive to eat away nearly five minutes of game clock in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. Boise State tailback Jeremy McNichols rushed for 208 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries, and Beaver wideout Seth Collins led all receivers with 106 yards on nine catches.

Stanford 22, UCLA 13

No. 7 Stanford scored 16 points in the fourth quarter to escape Los Angeles with its first conference win and cement itself as the top team in the Pac-12 at this juncture. The win marked the Cardinals’ ninth straight win over the Bruins. Christian McCaffery carried the Stanford offense once again with 138 yards on 26 carries, and the Cardinal held UCLA star signal-caller Josh Rosen to just one score through the air on 248 yards passing.

Arizona State 51, California 41

In the latest “Pac-12 after dark” shootout, the Sun Devils nabbed a home victory thanks to 31 fourth quarter points as they erased a 24-10 halftime deficit. Arizona State picked off California quarterback Davis Webb twice in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and scored on each occasion. The Sun Devils then returned an onside kick attempt 42 yards with 48 seconds remaining to cement the win. Webb threw for 478 yards, five scores and two interceptions on 32-of-56 passing, and Arizona State quarterback had 362 total yards and scored three times on the ground.

Follow Jarrid Denney on Twitter @jarrid_denney

For the second season in a row, the Oregon Ducks are 2-2 after four games.

Colorado defensive back Ahkello Witherspoon picked off Dakota Prukop’s pass attempt to Darren Carrington in the endzone with less than a minute left to cut short the Ducks’ comeback attempt and seal a 41-38 Buffalo victory.

With the loss, the Ducks fall to 2-2 on the season and 0-1 in Pac-12 play.

Witherspoon’s interception came just two plays after the Ducks converted on third-and-17 to keep their final drive alive when Prukop tossed a long pass to Carrington and drew a pass interference call. However, Prukop attempted to find Carrington again from 23 yards out and his under thrown ball ended in an interception.

Key Plays:

— Two minutes into the third quarter, Colorado quarterback Steven Montez found Devin Ross 48 yards downfield and Ross made an acrobatic diving catch to complete a touchdown and give Colorado a 33-17 lead.

— With seven minutes left in the third quarter, Tony Brooks-James punched in a rushing touchdown from one yard out to cap off a five play, 51 yard Oregon drive and cut the Colorado lead to 33-24.

— Oregon scored another unanswered touchdown on the ground, this time from three yards out via Kani Benoit, to bring the score to 33-31.

— Oregon took its first lead of the game when Prukop hit Carrington on an 18-yard slant route to give the Ducks a 38-33 lead.

— Colorado wideout Bryce Bobo pulled down a spectacular one-handed catch on a 31-yard fade route from Montez in the back of the endzone to give the Buffalos a 41-38 lead with 8:43 remaining.

Key Stats

Oregon Passing

Dakota Prukop: 22-of-33, 293 yards for two touchdowns and one interception

Colorado Passing

Steven Montez: 23-of-32, 333 yards for three touchdowns and two interceptions

Oregon Rushing

Kani Benoit: 120 yards and one touchdown and 15 attempts

Colorado Rushing

Steven Montez: 135 yards and one touchdown on 21 attempts

Oregon Receiving

Darren Carrington: Five catches for 65 yards and two touchdowns

Dwayne Stanford: Six catches for 95 yards

Colorado Receiving

Devin Ross: Seven catches for 153 yards and one touchdown

Follow Jarrid Denney on Twitter @jarrid_denney

Oregon football has had no trouble finding the end zone early this season, but the plays after the touchdowns are the ones being scrutinized.

The conversation started when the Ducks came up three points short of a tie in their marquee nonconference game at Nebraska last weekend. Oregon went for two-point conversions on all five of its PATs and was successful only once. Oregon and Nebraska each scored five touchdowns, but the Ducks’ failure to convert extra points decided the game.

The Ducks attempted 11 two-point conversions in their first three games of the season, which is more than they have in any full season since 2009.

This season, junior wide receiver Charles Nelson has been given full control of Oregon’s two-point conversion unit. With the ball in his hand, he can option to run, pass or leap across the pylon. The idea is that when Nelson sees an advantage or weak point in the defense, the Ducks attack. If that advantage isn’t there, they shift back to their field goal formation.

The issue, however, is that Oregon hasn’t been getting the numbers advantage it wants, yet continues to relentlessly attempt two-point conversions — to varied results.

“We line up in different formations every time and just read the defenses they give us. It’s like [playing] quarterback: You read defenses and make plays,” Nelson said.

When Oregon attempts a PAT, it’s up to Nelson, who has never played a down at quarterback, to diagnose the defense and decide whether Oregon should go for two or shift back to a field goal formation.

“We’ve done it for many years,” Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich said. “A lot of teams do what we do in terms of trying to get an ideal look: If it’s there, run it, and if it’s not, shift back in and kick it.”

Oregon coaches began experimenting with Nelson as the two-point conversion point guard during spring practices earlier this year. They gave Nelson more reps at the position throughout spring and fall camp before eventually feeling comfortable enough to hand him the keys to the special teams unit.

But the end zone looks a lot different at practice than it does under pressure in Nebraska.

“In front of 90,000 fans, it might be a little different sometimes. He’s a sharp guy and we’ve got a lot of trust in him,” special teams coach Tom Osborne said.

The Ducks are 4-for-11 on two-point tries this season. On nine of those attempts, Nelson has led the attack. On the other two attempts, Dakota Prukop and Oregon’s offense took the field and failed to convert.

When Nelson is pulling the trigger on the Ducks’ two-point attempts, he has worked from two different looks. One is a traditional “swinging gate” formation that Chip Kelly brought to Oregon and used in the same aggressive manner that Oregon’s current coaches do.

Oregon’s second point-after formation features Nelson lined up as a shotgun quarterback with three traditional linemen and a tight end staggered to the right side. On each sideline, Oregon has three players lined up in staggered sets, one of which is Oregon kicker Aidan Schneider.

The Ducks are 4-for-6 on conversions in which they line up in the swinging gate formation, 0-for-2 going from the second formation, and 0-for-2 when they send out their traditional offense. The other attempt came on a fake field goal, in which Nelson received the ball on a fly sweep and failed to score in the third quarter against UC Davis.

The swinging gate formation has proved to be successful, but the second formation seems to need some work.

“We need to coach it better,” Helfrich said. “The mindset of that is like, if we throw an incompletion, we’re never going to throw the ball again. That’s not how we operate.”

Of the eight attempts in which Nelson has lined up as quarterback, the Ducks have found the right positioning to attack the opponent’s defense three times, scoring on each occasion. All three of those instances came against UC Davis.

On the other five occasions, however, Nelson ran the ball to an unbalanced side that featured more defenders than Oregon blockers, and the Ducks failed to convert on four of those attempts. On the lone instance that they did convert, two defenders broke free and bottled up Nelson, but he flipped over them into the end zone.

Despite Nelson and Helfrich’s affirmation that the Ducks are getting the looks they want, they have been at a number disadvantage on 64 percent of Nelson’s attempts. Nelson has free reign to shift the Ducks back into field goal formation but has chosen to do so just once this year, which resulted in a successful PAT.

The other issue with Oregon’s consistent two-point approach is that it leaves kicker Aidan Schneider, one of the Ducks’ most consistent players, ineffective.

Against Nebraska, Schneider didn’t attempt a single field goal or PAT. When the Ducks have opted for a normal point-after with Schneider kicking, they’ve had a high success rate. His field goals have been good 98.2 percent of the time over his three years at Oregon. He also hasn’t missed a regular PAT since his freshman year. The Ducks have attempted two field goals this year, and both have been successful.

Oregon Ducks place kicker Aidan Schneider (41) kicks a field goal during the second half. The Oregon Ducks host Cal at Autzen Stadium on Nov. 7, 2015. (Adam Eberhardt/Emerald)

Schneider said staying fresh is one of the more difficult tasks for a collegiate kicker.

“When you haven’t been scoring touchdowns or field goal attempts or it’s by choice, it’s just a tough thing to do for anybody really,” Schneider said, “to be on the sideline and constantly warm yourself up and not know when you’re going to go in.”

Taylor Alie, Oregon’s listed holder, said it was frustrating to see the Ducks unable to convert at a high rate.

When previous head coach Chip Kelly unleashed a flashy collection of two-point conversion formations upon his arrival at Oregon, it was seen as innovative and was often successful because it took defenses by surprise. The Ducks’ current display isn’t fooling anybody, though.

Alie was frustrated that Oregon successfully converted so few times, especially when Schneider was waiting for a shot.

“That was the biggest frustrating thing,” Alie said. “I wish I could have seen one of the best kickers do his thing.”

Follow Jarrid Denney on Twitter @jarrid_denney

After suffering its first loss of the season against Nebraska last week, Oregon will now face Colorado for its Pac-12 opener and do so without two of its top offensive players. Devon Allen and Tyrell Crosby both suffered season-ending injuries during the Nebraska game, forcing the Ducks to replace one of their top wideouts, and starting left tackle, in the same week.

Meanwhile, Colorado is dealing with injury issues of its own. The Buffs could be without starting quarterback Sefo Liufau, who sustained an ankle injury during Colorado’s 45-28 loss to No. 4 Michigan last week. Liufau is listed as questionable at this point, but his performance could be hampered by the injury even if he does play. Colorado will also be without its starting placekicker, Diego Gonzalez, and starting outside linebacker Derek McCartney.

Here are the players to watch as Oregon and Colorado each attempt to overcome their injury woes:

Oregon 

Brady Aiello — Left tackle

The redshirt freshman was thrown into the fire during Oregon’s week-one win over UC Davis, and like Oregon’s other young starters along the offensive line, he struggled at times. Crosby returned for the Nebraska matchup and looked to have taken back the starting spot, before exiting the game with a foot injury. From here on out, the Ducks will likely start four redshirt freshmen along the offensive line for the remainder of the year, and Aiello could have the greatest impact of the group. Oregon quarterback Dakota Prukop was sacked just once during the Nebraska matchup, but he was consistently working in a messy pocket and often forced to scramble before he could progress through his reads. Aiello and Oregon’s other young linemen will need to give Prukop more time if the Ducks hope to avoid a similar result.

Daren Carrington — Wide Receiver

One of the top receivers in the conference, Carrington was Oregon’s leading receiver in the Ducks’ week-one win, pulling down seven catches for 117 yards and a touchdown. He had a 32-yard reception against Virginia in week two, but disappeared during the Nebraska matchup and had just three catches for 36 yards. When Allen was healthy, he and Carrington provided Prukop a nice pair of deep threats who could keep opposing defenses honest, but that role now falls solely on Carrington. Through Oregon’s first three games, Carrington has averaged nearly 14 yards per-catch. If he can continue to break loose and beat defenders over the top, that will go a long way towards opening up Oregon’s rushing game and clearing up space for the Ducks’ group of speedy backs.

Taj Griffin — Running Back

Allen and Crosby aren’t the only Ducks who suffered injuries last week. Oregon running back Royce Freeman left the Nebraska game in the first quarter with an apparent leg injury and spent the remainder of the game on the sideline, ice strapped to his leg. Freeman was seen limping after practice earlier this week and may be held out of the Colorado game if Oregon coaches don’t feel he is ready to go. With Freeman out last week, Oregon’s backup running backs proved that they are more than capable of carrying the load on offense, and they may need to do so again. Griffin may not get the starting nod for the Ducks, but after breaking loose for a 50-yard touchdown last week, he has proven he may be Oregon’s most electric offensive weapon. Griffin’s big-play potential will be pivotal for the Ducks this weekend if Freeman can’t go.

Colorado

Chidobe Awuzie — Cornerback

Awuzie was an all-conference second-team selection last season and is one of the top returning defensive backs in the country. He has been tabbed by several different sites as a potential second or third round pick in the upcoming NFL draft, and could be the lockdown corner the Buffs need to stop Oregon’s high-powered passing attack this weekend. At six feet, 205 pounds, Awuzie has the size to matchup with Oregon’s physical receivers, such as Darren Carrington and Dwayne Stanford, but is also agile enough to drop into the slot and hold his own with speedsters such as Charles Nelson.

Bryce Bobo — Wide Receiver

From 2011 to 2015, Colorado quarterbacks had the luxury of throwing the ball to former all-conference first-team selection Nelson Spruce. Now with the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, Spruce is gone and Bryce Bobo has filled his role as Colorado’s go-to deep threat. A 6-foot-2 junior, Bobo broke into the Buffs’ starting lineup this year and has made an immediate impact. He caught five passes for 99 yards in Colorado’s week one victory over Colorado State, including an acrobatic one-handed, 46-yard reception. He is averaging 20 yards per catch this year, and his breakaway speed could give Oregon’s cornerbacks a challenge this weekend.

Chris Graham — Kicker

With the loss of starting placekicker Diego Gonzalez due to a torn achilles, the Buffs will look to Graham to solidify the kicking game. The sophomore kicker has handled kickoff duties for the past two seasons and is also the team’s backup punter. Gonzalez provided solid play and went 18-of-29 on field goal attempts last year, while Graham is 0-1 so far on attempts this year. The Buffs have converted third downs at a 48-percent clip this season and been one of the best teams in the country at continuing drives. If that efficiency dips, though, Graham could be tested early this weekend if the Buffs are able to work their way into solid field position against the Ducks.

Follow Jarrid Denney on Twitter @jarrid_denney

After Oregon’s final practice of the week on Thursday, defensive coordinator Brady Hoke said that the handful of freshmen who were slated to take the field for the Ducks in their season-opener on Saturday should expectedly be a little nervous.

“If you’re not a little tight then I don’t know if you’re completely ready,” Hoke told reporters.

Apparently, Troy Dye missed the message.

In the first collegiate game of his career, Dye finished with a game-high 11 tackles, including seven solo tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and a sack in Oregon’s 53-28 win over UC Davis. He also added a blocked field goal in the third quarter for good measure.

“That’s how [Dye] has been every single day at practice,” Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich said. “Everything he does in individual drills, he just competes his face off and he’ll hit you. He’s a guy we’ve been very excited about since the day he got here.”

A true freshman from Norco, California, Dye was thrust into the spotlight when his name appeared at the starting SAM linebacker spot on Oregon’s two-deep depth chart a week ago. As the only Duck true freshman to nab a starting spot, Dye was expected to provide solid play and make a few ‘freshman mistakes’ along the way. He wasn’t expected to play like the second coming of Kiko Alonso.

Dye recorded six of Oregon’s 12 tackles in the first quarter, and landed two crushing tackles for loss on UC Davis’ fourth drive of the game. In the week leading up to the game, he said he normally doesn’t feel nervous before games and tries to push those thoughts from his head. However, he admitted that he wasn’t sure what kind of emotions and nerves he would feel once he entered the tunnel for his first game.

Whether nervousness played a factor or not, the former 3-star recruit made his presence felt almost immediately.

“It was great. It was definitely the atmosphere I expected,” Dye said after the game. “But the way I played, I didn’t expect that at all. I just read what I read and played fast and physical like coaches told me to and just had fun.”

Hoke, as well as Dye’s teammates, have repeatedly praised his ability to play at full speed during practice. Dye’s energy and high motor grabbed the attention of Oregon’s coaches almost immediately when he began practicing with the team. That same motor was on full display Saturday afternoon as he played like a one-man army and singlehandedly halted several UC Davis drives.

“I feel like he’s a junior or something already,” Oregon defensive end Jalen Jelks said. “He learns the game pretty quickly and he learned the defense really well. The first day of fall camp, we were doing a box drill with kickoffs and Troy was the first guy down the field and was beating running backs.”

While Dye was surprised with his own performance,  numerous Oregon players and coaches said that they expected this type of game from the freshman sooner rather than later. He was recruited as a safety and has added nearly 30 pounds since arriving on campus for spring practices. Teammates have already said that Dye’s study habits are so sharp that he often knows which plays are coming before they happen. The scary part? He has exactly one career game under his belt.

“He’s a very, very good athlete,” Hoke said after the game. “I think his football instinct and IQ is pretty good. I don’t know if what he did absolutely surprised anybody, but there’s a ton of stuff he can do better, too.”

Follow Jarrid Denney on Twitter @jarrid_denney

At this point last season, Oregon defensive coordinator Brady Hoke was out of football, one year removed from a stint as head coach at University of Michigan.

Last Saturday Hoke returned to the sideline as Oregon’s defensive coordinator and watched as his revamped Duck defense delivered a mixed performance in a 53-28 win over UC Davis at Autzen Stadium.

At times on Saturday, Oregon’s defense looked like the dominant unit that Hoke imagined when he chose to end his football hiatus and take a shot at rebuilding the Ducks’ abysmal squad. After surrendering a touchdown on the Aggies’ first drive of the game, the Ducks held UC Davis to 108 yards and kept them off the scoreboard for the remainder of the half.

Freshman Troy Dye looked like a star in the making and made plays all over the field in the first half. The Norco, California, native recorded six tackles in the first quarter alone and ended with a team-best 11 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. However, he was one of the rare high-points for Oregon as the Ducks allowed the visitors to hang around much longer than they should have.

“We didn’t tackle very well,” Hoke said. “We gave up some big balls down the field and we competed for some of them, but we’ve got to come away with a few of those also.”

Oregon’s defense wasn’t nearly as bad as Hoke hinted that it might be. He said Oregon was ‘nowhere near having a defense’ during the last week of fall camp. Improvement in the pass rush was apparent from the get-go. Senior defensive end Henry Mondeaux sacked UC Davis quarterback Ben Scott for a 10-yard loss on the first play of the game. Throughout, Oregon defenders badgered Scott with a consistent pass-rush.

But for all that appeared different with the Ducks’ defense, much remained the same on Saturday. The Aggies, who finished in the bottom half of the FCS Big Sky Conference last season, netted 392 yards of total offense. Wideout Doss Keelan broke free several times on third down for substantial gains. It took Oregon all but 1:07 to score on its first drive of the third quarter, but the Ducks handed the Aggies another touchdown less than two minutes later and allowed them to eat up six minutes of clock on an 11-play drive that ended in another touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter.

“Sometimes we looked like we were in a 3-4, sometimes it looked like a 4-3,” Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich said. “I thought, operationally, we didn’t get gapped out all of the time and that led to some of the big runs with the fly-sweep action and the power. There’s a lot of moving parts to that that certainly other teams will do against us going forward […] Most of that is very simple to look at on the tape and understand what’s going on.”

Overall, Oregon’s defense operated a step above where it was at this point last season. Outside cornerbacks Arrion Springs and Ugo Amadi both made key breakups on huge would-be gains, and neither was beaten down the sideline like they often were last season. Instead, most of the Aggies’ large gains came up the middle, where coverage often broke down.

“We were there to make the right plays and we were there mentally and physically, but we just weren’t there with the playbook I guess,” Oregon defensive end Jalen Jelks said. “People were still kind of misaligned and stuff like that… I think they scored too many points. We made the right plays when they needed to be done, but I think that we can do more.”

This Saturday, the Ducks welcome a Virginia team that lost badly to Richmond in its season-opener. The Ducks won’t get away with the type of defensive performance they displayed on Saturday when they begin facing Power 5 opponents, but Hoke believes at this point that he will have plenty to work with once Oregon’s coaches begin studying film.

In his much anticipated return to the sideline, Hoke, who has been his defense’s loudest critic all summer, was cautiously optimistic.

“We won, and winning is what this is all about,” Hoke said. “It’s a matter of us going out there this week and having a great week and improving.”

Follow Jarrid Denney on Twitter @jarrid_denney

The No. 24 Oregon Ducks captured a 53-28 win over the UC Davis Aggies in their first game of the season at Autzen Stadium Saturday afternoon.

After a 25-point effort in the first half, Oregon wasted no time getting on the scoreboard after halftime. Royce Freeman broke off a 49-yard run early in Oregon’s first drive to get Oregon down to the UC Davis one-yard line, and Dakota Prukop followed with a touchdown on a designed run.

Charles Nelson had a kick return of 62 yards and a punt return of 41 yards that each put Oregon in a solid position to start scoring drives. Nelson finished with 288 all-purpose yards on the day, with 153 coming on kick returns and 98 coming on punt returns.

Key plays:

— Freeman’s run on the third play of Oregon’s opening drive put the Ducks in position to score right away. That single run accumulated in more yards than Freeman had rushed for in the entire first half. Prukop picked up his third touchdown of the day on the ensuing play to put Oregon ahead 33-7.

— The Aggies answered back with a score of their own early in the third quarter when quarterback Ben Scott connected with Keelan Doss for a 50-yard reception in double coverage. Two plays later, Manusamoa Luuga punched in a 20-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 33-14.

— Freeman scored another rushing touchdown — this time from five yards out — to extend Oregon’s lead to 39-14. The Ducks attempted to score on a two-point conversion, but Nelson was stuffed at the line.

— The Aggies burnt the clock for much of the third quarter with an 11-play drive that lasted almost six minutes. The drive resulted in a one-yard rushing touchdown by Luuga followed by a successful extra point that cut Oregon’s lead to 39-21.

— UC Davis recovered a Charles Nelson fumble on the Oregon 30 midway through the third quarter and had an opportunity to further shorten the deficit, but Troy Dye blocked a 28-yard field goal attempt to keep the Aggies off the scoreboard.

— Tony Brooks-James came off the bench, rushing for a 33-yard touchdown. The score gave the Ducks a comfortable 53-28 lead with 3:33 remaining.

Key stats: 

Oregon passing

Dakota Prukop — 21-of-30 for 271 yards and three touchdowns

UC Davis passing

Ben Scott — 27-of-47 for 303 yards and one interception

Oregon rushing

Royce Freeman — 11 carries for 89 yards and two touchdowns

Tony Brooks-James — 5 carries for 57 yards and one touchdown

Dakota Prukop — 11 carries for 36 yards and one touchdown

Kani Benoit — four attempts for 34 yards

UC Davis rushing

Manusamoa Luuga — 22 carries for 96 yards and three touchdowns

Oregon receiving

Darren Carrington — seven receptions for 117 yards and one touchdown

Johnny Mundt — three receptions for 52 yards and one touchdown

UC Davis receiving

Keelan Doss  — seven receptions for 116 yards

Oregon total offense

522 yards

UC Davis total offense

392 yards

Follow Jarrid Denney on Twitter @jarrid_denney

It’s been 245 days since Oregon found itself on the wrong end of one of the more devastating late-game collapses in recent memory.

Much has changed for the Ducks since that loss. Standout quarterback Vernon Adams is gone, replaced by fellow graduate-transfer Dakota Prukop. Don Pellum was ousted as Oregon’s defensive coordinator following its postseason collapse, and Brady Hoke has stepped into the position and will attempt to restructure Oregon’s stale defense.

Oregon has been a fixture atop pre-season top-10 rankings for almost a decade, but the Ducks were buried beneath five teams in the AP preseason poll and enter Saturday listed as No. 24 in the nation. Saturday is the start of a 2016 campaign that could serve as a pivotal point for the Oregon program as the Ducks aim to prove that they are still a national power.

Here are three storylines to follow during Oregon’s season-opener against UC Davis.

1. Can Brady Hoke fix Oregon’s defense?

The Ducks’ pass defense was torn to shreds by Pac-12 offenses last season. Oregon was the third-worst passing defense in the nation in 2015 and the Ducks return just one starter along the front seven. Hoke was hired in the offseason to salvage a defense that, at times, looked incapable of stopping anybody last season. A switch to a rush-heavy 4-3 scheme is intended to take pressure off of Oregon’s secondary and Oregon players have been optimistic about the simplicity that Hoke’s new defense has provided. It doesn’t matter if the Ducks’ offense continues as one of the best in the nation if their defense can’t stop anybody, and Saturday will provide Duck fans their first glance at the new-look defense.

2. Is Dakota Prukop the answer at quarterback?

After Oregon held an open quarterback competition during spring ball and the early portion of fall camp, senior graduate-transfer Dakota Prukop did what was expected of him: he won Oregon’s quarterback job. Prukop has been handed the keys to one of top offense in the country and has a deep toolbox of receivers and running backs that should ease some of the difficulty that will come with jumping from the Big-Sky to the Pac-12. Vernon Adams was one of the more efficient quarterbacks in all of college football last year after making the leap from the FCS, and he only had a few weeks to prepare for the season; Prukop has been on campus since last winter term and has had almost nine months to familiarize himself with Oregon’s offense. Since Prukop was announced as the starter, Oregon coaches and players have praised his confidence and ability to lead. On Saturday, Oregon fans will get their first glimpse at one of the most buzzed-about players in the nation.

3. Will Justin Herbert see the field?

At this point last year, Justin Herbert was a senior at nearby Sheldon High School and just beginning his final year of high school football. Today, he is slated to take the field for an Oregon team that he grew up watching and he could see significant playing time. Herbert is listed as Oregon’s backup signal-caller on the Ducks’ two-deep and Mark Helfrich stated earlier this week that he isn’t worried about burning Herbert’s redshirt. If Oregon takes a commanding lead into the second half, it sounds like Herbert will be the one running the offense in garbage time.

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After two weeks of going head-to-head each day in fall camp, Oregon’s players finally get to focus on facing an opponent instead of competing against one another.

Oregon offensive coordinator Matt Lubick said the Ducks’ players are playing with even more energy now that it’s game week. With Oregon’s season-opener against UC Davis just four days away, Lubick said that Oregon’s coaching staff doesn’t plan to pare down the offense despite being heavily favored for Saturday’s matchup.

“It doesn’t necessarily matter about the opponent,” Lubick told reporters after Wednesday’s practice. “What we do is we have an offensive package and we’ll study our opponent and see what works against it. So — this is an estimate — it’s probably about 25% of our offense. And that changes each week.”

Lubick also said that the Ducks plan to rotate six or seven players at the wide receiver position this week. Freshman standout Dillon Mitchell wasn’t listed on Oregon’s two-deep depth chart that was released last week due to injury, but the Ducks still have six returning players at the position. Lubick said that Charles Nelson will get subbed a lot throughout the rotation at the slot position and that he considers Darren Carrington, Jalen Brown, Devon Allen and Dwayne Stanford all ‘guys who could start.’

Taj Griffin and Tony Brooks-James will still primarily lineup at the running back spot, but will also play certain sets at slot receiver.

The Ducks’ offense spent much of their fall camp working through ‘install’ periods and adding to the playbook as camp went on. The same goes for Oregon’s defense. First-year defensive coordinator Brady Hoke implemented a 4-3 defense that is foreign to many of Oregon’s veteran players who spent years playing in a 3-4 scheme. Several players throughout fall camp have spoken of the difficult transition of adapting to a new scheme, but it sounds like Hoke has reached the end of the install period for the time being as week one approaches.

“I think we’re kind of at a point where we feel pretty comfortable with everything that’s going in,” Oregon linebacker Johnny Ragin III said. “I think we might put stuff in here and there to gameplan, but we want to really just prefect the things we have right now and then from time-to-time, just put things in due to need rather than expectation.”

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