The coaching staff of the Oregon Ducks is in an unenviable position of having to decide swiftly on who to start under center while quarterback Justin Herbert recovers from a collarbone injury for approximately four to six weeks.

Justin Herbert sustained the injury in the first quarter of Saturday’s win over the California Golden Bears while on his way to scoring a rushing touchdown. Herbert left the game with 86 passing yards and a touchdown heave on 7-for-8 completions.

If there’s any silver lining to glean from this unfortunate news, it’s that the injury was on Herbert’s non-throwing shoulder according to Bruce Feldman of Sports Illustrated.

Nevertheless, this is a huge blow to Oregon’s offense, which was humming when it was being orchestrated by Herbert. On the season, the Ducks are tops in the nation in scoring offense (49.6 points per game) and eighth in total offense (537.4). Herbert’s passer rating of 172.92, meanwhile, is eighth best in FBS.

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Herbert, however, wasn’t the only Duck who got hurt in that game with running back Royce Freeman and backup quarterback Taylor Alie also leaving the field in the middle of the game with different injuries. Alie and freshman Braxton Burmeister are expected to compete for the team's interim starting quarterback position.

Royce Freeman going out was also a relatively large deal. It isn't good for the program to keep having players go down with injury.

Oregon, 4-1, will look to build on its win over California next Saturday at home against Mike Leach and the undefeated Washington State Cougars (5-0).