Jordan Burch sidelined with apparent leg injury during Pac-12 Championship
Jordan Burch is battling injury to return in Oregon’s matchup against Washington in the Pac-12 Championship. On3’s Jarrid Denney provided more information on the standout defensive end’s developing situation.
“Burch is on the Oregon sideline with a brace on his left knee,” Denney wrote. “Doing a lot of jogging and looks like he’s trying to shake off whatever the injury is, but still not in on this drive.”
Burch’s absence has been obvious. Washington’s offense was dominant in the first half, rattling off 20 points. Burch is a defensive leader for Oregon. He entered the game on Friday night with 33 tackles and three sacks.
Burch also had an unfortunate outing in Oregon’s loss against Washington earlier this season. In the defeat, Burch only recorded one tackle. Nonetheless, there’s more than revenge on the line for Oregon. If the Ducks don’t defeat Washington, their hopes at a College Football Playoff appearance are gone.
***UPDATE***
Burch did not warm up with the team after halftime. He is questionable to return to the game.
“Jordan Burch currently isn’t warming up with the rest of Oregon’s players — is sitting on the bench by himself,” Denney wrote. “Still in uniform, and still has his helmet next to him.”
College Football Playoff on the line for Oregon
Of course, even if Oregon wins, a spot in the CFP isn’t guaranteed. Earlier this week, FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt painted a nightmarish picture for Ducks fans.
“I think there is a scenario where Oregon gets left out,” Klatt said on The Herd. “I’m just gonna paint the picture … Michigan wins, Alabama wins, Oregon wins, Texas wins. Okay? They’re not leaving the SEC champion out. That means Alabama is in … Guess who goes in for sure because of that? Texas, they beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa. That leaves one spot (between) Oregon (and) Georgia.”
When you break it down like that, that assumes the committee would automatically include Texas because of the Longhorns’ head-to-head win over Alabama. That’s been a hot topic of debate due to Alabama being a much better team now compared to September.
In this scenario, Oregon has to look at No. 1 Michigan, then No. 2 and 3 with Alabama and Texas in whatever order. The No. 4 spot comes down to Oregon and Georgia. Klatt emphasized the CFP’s latest top 25 rankings, starting with Tennessee back in at No. 21 and Utah out of the top 25.
“By the way, the committee did not include Utah in the top 25, which is a vital piece to [Oregon’s] resume. If they were trying to compete with Georgia, who does get a piece of that resume because guess what the committee has done at the back end of the rankings? Tennessee weirdly, No. 21. Utah, not ranked,” Klatt said. “I’m just telling you there is a chance that Oregon gets left out.”
On3’s Nick Kosko also contributed to this article.