Oregon Ducks starting quarterback Darron Thomas did not play during Saturday's game against the Colorado buffaloes and didn't need to as the Ducks came away as 45-2 victors. Regardless of the game's outcome, the Ducks would like to see the efficient Thomas back on the field as soon as possible. According to Oregon's Andy McNamara, Thomas throws touchdowns on 18.5% of his completions, placing him tops in the country.
So far this season, Thomas has recorded 17 total touchdowns and has 92 completions. He has a 61.4% completion rating and averages 8.18 yards per attempt with 1,227 total yards.
Thomas' stats make sense in the Ducks offense. Oregon runs the ball and breaks off big plays behind the likes of LaMichael James (who is recovering from an injury of his own), Kenjon Barner and De'Anthony Thomas. Once the defense keys in on the running backs, Thomas has space in the passing game and can go about finding receivers efficiently.
His work in the endzone gives the Ducks an element of surprise during long drives. Teams may expect Oregon to use its talented running backs to tack on points, but Thomas has proven that he can be quite efficient when the Ducks get close to scoring.
The Ducks will be happy to see Thomas back on the field when he recovers fully from his knee injury. Oregon travels to Washington State this week before potentially tough road games against Washington and Stanford.