NCAA Football Update: Oklahoma, Oregon Injury News

On the first play of Oregon's dominating 42-3 win over then #6 California, star corner back Walter Thurmond went down with an apparent knee injury. Today, it is being reported that Thurmond will have to undergo season ending knee-surgery. In the Big 12, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops won't decide yet whether quarterback Sam Bradford will play versus Miami.

Oregon Ducks' win over Cal bittersweet

Oregon has, just four games in, had a season with more ups and downs than most teams have in five years. They lost their opener against Boise State, and then after the game lost running back LeGarrette Blount for the season after he was suspended for punching a Boise State player after the loss. Since then, they've gone 3-0, culminating in their dominant 42-3 drubbing of California.

With the loss of CB Thurmond, however, Oregon will have to see if they can maintain their momentum. After the loss to Boise State, Oregon was barely able to squeak by Purdue (38-36), and until the Cal game looked like a team teetering on the verge of total collapse. Now they stand poised to make a run at the Pac-10 title.

The loss of Thurmond will hurt, however, and combined with Blount's suspension, I highly doubt Oregon will be able to run the table versus the rest of the Pac-10. That being said, very few people thought Oregon would beat Cal, much less blow them out, so it's probably foolish to count Oregon out completely.

My prediction: I still think Oregon will end up at either 7-5 or 8-4, although I'm not at all certain with the way they've been playing so far this season. How they handle lowly Washington State in week 5 should give us some indication of whether Oregeon is legit or not.

Sam Bradford improving, but will he be ready for Miami?

After losing Heisman winner Bradford in a season opening loss to Brigham Young University, #8 Oklahoma has outscored their opponents 109-0 in wins versus Idaho State and Tulsa. Without Bradford, however, I don't think Oklahoma will be able to overcome what is turning out to be a very strong #16 Miami team.

I know Miami lost last week versus Virginia Tech, but Oklahoma has yet to have a serious test since Bradford got injured, and going on the road to a very rowdy Miami crowd might make things even worse. Oklahoma's defense will be able to keep them in the game, but without Bradford in at QB I don't think that an OU win is a given.

If Bradford is anything less than 100%, however, I would keep him out of the game. I know I am painting a somewhat bleak forecast for Oklahoma, but Bradford the game three weeks from now against #2 Texas will be the game of the year in the Big 12, and it would hurt Oklahoma tremendously if Bradford were to suffer a setback and not be able to go against the Longhorns.

Sources:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4516652
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4519866