Dan Lanning expects Oregon running back Noah Whittington to miss some time after exiting the Colorado win with an injury.

Whittington was carted off the field late in the third quarter with an apparent lower leg injury. Lanning said they’re still waiting on information regarding the injury, but the early outlook isn’t good.

“I think Noah is going to be down for a bit,” he said. ” I need everybody to say a prayer for him. He is healthy, he is OK, but he’s probably gonna be down for a little bit. Need everybody to have Noah in their prayers. That is a tough kid. A tough kid, man, that we’re really proud of and fortunate to have. There are bright days ahead for Noah, I just don’t know that we’ll have him here for the next few weeks.”

Whittington had eight carries for 45 yards and a touchdown before exiting the game.

In his absence, the Ducks will lean more on Bucky Irving and Jordan James. Irving had 118 total yards while James added 54 rushing yards and a touchdown on seven carries.

James has been the Ducks’ short-yardage back through four games, and now has six touchdowns on the season. The Ducks have freshmen Jayden Limar and Dante Dowdell who could also see extended run in Whittington’s absence.

Whittington didn’t play in the first game, but he really found a groove last week against Hawaii when he ran for 80 yards and a touchdown on five carries.

The Ducks have really spread around their backfield carries so far this season, but Whittington will certainly be missed.