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The right ankle of De'Anthony Thomas was well enough for him to get significant hang-time on a celebratory leap with teammate Byron Marshall on Saturday during the Ducks' 62-38 win over Washington State. Thomas said he expects to play this weekend against No. 12 UCLA.

(Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian)

EUGENE -- The season for the Oregon football team is about to get real.

As in real pressure. Real stakes. And mostly, some real opponents.

And perhaps not so coincidentally, it appears the Ducks will have their real roster for the home stretch, with several indications pointing to do-it-all star De’Anthony Thomas returning this week to play against No. 12 UCLA.

Thomas hasn’t played since spraining his right ankle on the opening kickoff of the Sept. 28 game against California. He hasn’t carried the ball out of the backfield since Sept. 14 against Tennessee. A spokesperson, who writes for the university website, said Thomas told him on Saturday that he expects to play against the Bruins, which is believable when you see a photograph by The Oregonian’s Thomas Boyd from Saturday’s Washington State game. The picture shows Thomas greeting teammate Byron Marshall on the sideline to celebrate a big play, both of them leaping in unison. Not only is Thomas leaping on his ankle, he is leaping higher than Marshall.

Of course, leaping with a teammate doesn’t equate to the stress his ankle could endure while making a cut in the open field, but hey, getting that kind of air is a pretty good sign.

Unless you are UCLA.

Imagine watching the Ducks on film the last four weeks. None of it includes Thomas. Yet there were the Ducks rolling up 719 yards against the Cougars, including 415 rushing. Against the Huskies they had 631 yards (284 rushing). Colorado gave up 755 yards (374 rushing). And in monsoon-like conditions, the Ducks had 381 yards against Cal, including 264 on the ground.

Now they get a guy back who was averaging eight yards per carry, a touchdown every seven carries, and 19.3 yards on every reception?

What’s more, Thomas’ injury might have been the biggest blessing to this Ducks’ season. Without Thomas, sophomore Marshall and true freshman Thomas Tyner not only became more seasoned, and therefore more dependable, but they have gained the trust of their teammates and coaching staff.

In fact, Ducks’ offensive coordinator Scott Frost said the progression of Marshall and Tyner not only gives him more confidence, but it gives him more options once Thomas returns.

“It just gives us more weapons,’’ Frost said. “We don’t have to leave De’Anthony in the backfield. We will be able to move him around and feel good about the other backs in the backfield. The more these two young backs play, the more it frees us up to use De’Anthony in a lot of ways.’’

That thud you heard was UCLA defensive coordinator Lou Spanos banging his head against a wall.

The progress of Marshall and Tyner was never more apparent than last weekend against Washington State.

Marshall had 21 carries for 192 yards and three touchdowns, but his stats only told part of the story. His vision and his spin moves, and his stutter steps were that of a player with a feel for the game, a player coming into his own. While Thomas has been out with the sprained ankle, Marshall has rushed for 130 yards against Cal, 122 yards against Colorado, 106 against the Huskies and 192 against the Cougars.

“He’s getting better and better, and you would expect that from a sophomore,’’ said Frost, who has been touting Marshall since August. “I think he showed some flashes last year, and this year, week-in-and-week-out he has been getting better every time he gets a chance. He will be a great player.’’

Tyner, who had seven carries for 99 yards and two touchdowns to go along with three catches for 42 yards, looks more-and-more like a game-breaking superstar every time he touches the ball. His 66-yard touchdown run against the Cougars not only showed his breakaway speed, but it showed his patience in allowing the play to develop, which came in the form of receiver Keanon Lowe clearing out two defenders.

An indication of the Ducks’ growing confidence in Tyner: Last week he split reps with the first team.

“We have three guys we can count on at the running back position right now,’’ Frost said. “That’s a luxury,’’

In the three games Thomas did play, he led the team in carries twice, including a career-high 18 in the opener against Nicholls. But seldom, if ever, did the Ducks unveil him in the multitude of options they have used him in the past: lined up wide, in the slot, or in motion. Quite simply, they didn’t need to because they were so superior to the opponent.

But that will no longer be the case. The Ducks’ remaining five games are against teams with a combined 25-8 record, including No. 12 UCLA in Eugene this weekend, and at No. 8 Stanford on Nov. 7. The Ducks also play host to Utah, and travel to Arizona before hosting the Civil War.

The talented Thomas, and all the strategical nightmares he presents to defenses, will be needed. And now, thanks in part to his injury, he is perhaps even more dangerous as Marshall and Tyner have become tested and reliable.

And behind it all sits a first year coordinator, now with yet another button at his disposal while directing this juggernaut offense. Frost says he hasn’t stepped back and reflected at all of his options. Instead, he said he it allows him to think less.

“What it does is give you a freedom as a play caller to just call a play,’’ Frost said. “I think a lot of people as coordinators have to try and call plays to get balls in certain people’s hands. I don’t have to think about that too much. It’s pretty much wherever the ball ends up, we have a guy on the other end of it who can make a play. That frees you up to think about scheme rather than trying to get balls in certain people’s hands.’’

--Jason Quick