Bo Nix's availability will be "evaluated" ahead of Oregon's showdown with Oregon State
The health status of Bo Nix remained a mystery last week as Dan Lanning refused to talk about his star quarterback’s availability.
It appears that will be the case once again this week.
After endless speculation as to whether an ankle injury would keep him sidelined last Saturday, Nix gutted his way through all four quarters and helped the Ducks to a 20-17 win over Utah. He finished the evening 25-for-37 with 287 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. But he was clearly playing through pain and had just one rushing attempt on the night.
With the No. 10 Ducks slated to close out the regular season against No. 22 Oregon State on Saturday, Nix remains day-to-day.
“I think it’s evaluated every single day. We’ll see,” Lanning said during his Monday press conference when asked about Nix. “We have great medical staff. They do a good job. Bo understands. He’s been playing the game for a long time.
“He understands the way his body feels. Obviously, he was able to go out there on Saturday. But keep evaluating as we get closer to each game.”
In his postgame interview following the Utah win, Nix said he wasn’t certain he would play that evening until he went through pregame warmups.
He praised the work of backup quarterback Ty Thompson during the week and said the redshirt freshman was instrumental in helping him prepare when he wasn’t able to take physical reps during practice.
“I thought Ty did a great job preparing like he was going to go out there and play the whole game. … He had a great week himself,” Nix said.
On the season, Nix is 244-for-338 passing (72%) and has thrown for 25 touchdowns and six interceptions. He has also rushed for 14 touchdowns — the most in the nation among FBS quarterbacks — and has caught one touchdown.
Lanning was asked about a handful of dinged-up Oregon players on Monday, including receiver Chase Cota and offensive linemen Alex Forsyth and Ryan Walk. He was adamant, though, that he would not discuss injuries.
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When asked specifically about Walk, who started at center against Utah while battling an injury, Lanning offered this.
“I’m not gonna spend a ton of time talking about injuries, obviously,” Lanning said. “But we have a lot of tough kids. It’s that time of year when you’re banged up. You’re hurting, and it’s not week one anymore.
“So we have a lot of guys that are banged up. Ryan’s certainly one of those guys who battled through it and made sure he’s made his way to the field.”
Whether or not Nix is able to start on Saturday, the Ducks will have their hands full against an Oregon State defense that has been arguably the best in the conference this year.
The Beavers rank second in the Pac-12 in net total yards allowed per game (330.6), and first in rushing yards allowed per game (111.4).
“This is one of the more well-coached defenses that we’re gonna go against. You’ve got to take what’s there, you can’t take more,” Lanning said. “We just can’t be greedy. We’ve got to stay on schedule and do a good job of that.”
