Marcus Mariota

Marcus Mariota says his left knee injury will not keep him out of Saturday's game at Autzen Stadium against Utah (4-5).

(Bruce Ely/The Oregonian)

EUGENE -- Marcus Mariota gave his injured left knee a test drive in Monday’s practice, after which the Oregon quarterback confidently said he will play Saturday against Utah.

“For sure,’’ Mariota said when asked if he would play Saturday.

Mariota has been dealing with a left knee issue that was exacerbated during Thursday’s 26-20 loss to Stanford, when he was helped off the field during the third quarter. He returned and finished the game, but appeared to be affected by the knee.

Eugene television station KVAL reported before the Stanford game that Mariota has a sprained medial collateral ligament strain in his left knee. It is believed he suffered the injury in the first half of the Oct. 26 game against UCLA. The redshirt sophomore emerged from halftime of that game wearing a brace.

On Monday, Mariota said he wore a brace while practicing, and felt confident enough in how he performed to say he would play against the Utes (4-5 overall, 1-4 Pac-12).

“Anybody when they hurt something, they have to go through a phase of just building your confidence,’’ Mariota said. “That’s why we are out here at practice, that’s why I’m running around and making sure that I can do all the things I need to to help this team win.’’

Mariota said he took all the practice repetitions with the first team and redshirt freshman Jeff Lockie took all the snaps with the second team.

“My knee is what it is,’’ Mariota said. “That’s not an excuse. I’m not going to let it be an excuse.’’

He was asked whether there is an issue with his left knee?

“Not at all,’’ Mariota said.

Is he 100 percent?

“That’s something I can’t talk about,’’ he said.

He was then told he could have said yes to that question. He smiled.

“Yeah, I know,’’ he said.

Mariota said his body feels better this week than it did last week before the Stanford game.

Although Mariota played the entire game and completed 20-of-34 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns, he was not a factor in the running game as usual. He had six rushes (three of them were sacks) for minus-16 yards.

Mariota said he didn’t think about the knee while playing against Stanford, and therefore it didn’t affect his play. However, he said upon watching film he noticed occasions when he should have run the ball.

Having the quarterback as an option to run is a huge part of the Ducks offense, and Mariota said if the knee becomes an issue to where he can’t effectively run, he will weigh the pros and cons of him playing.

“If it gets to that point, I will make that judgment,’’ Mariota said. “But I’ve been taught my whole life not to show weakness, and I’m not going to fade away from that.’’

Mariota this season has completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 2,531 yards, 22 touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also has 62 rushes for 495 yards and nine touchdowns. Lockie has appeared in six games and completed 8-of-11 passes for 57 yards and an interception. He has four rushes for 28 yards and a touchdown.