Freshman running back CJ Verdell had never experienced anything like the late fumble against Stanford last month. Sure, he'd had ups and downs as a high school player, but nothing matched the scrutiny of coughing up the ball with the lead and with 51 second left against a top 10.

Fortunately, Verdell has pretty thick-skin, he says, and his teammates had his back too. Verdell showed no hangover from the heartbreaking loss on Saturday, totaling 100 yards for the third time this season in the team's first Pac-12 road win since November 2016.

“I’ve always been the type of person to bounce back," he said following Saturday's 42-24 triumph over California. "That’s nothing new to me. It put a little weight on me that day, and then the day after that. But, I’ve learned to put that behind me, and move on.

"A lot of people came to my locker and told me it’s going to be alright."

The bulldozing back is Oregon's leading rusher this season with 420 yards on the ground. Despite being part of running back by committee backfield, Verdell's 420 yards are also fifth most in the Pac-12. Teammates Travis Dye and Tony Brooks-James are also in the top 20 in the conference in rushing. Dye's 253 yards put in 13th, while Brooks-James' 200 have him 18th. Cyrus Habibi-Likio has six touchdowns to place him second in the Pac-12 behind Oregon State's Jermar Jefferson.

Habibi-Likio's sixth came on Saturday in front of his hometown crowd. The one-yard score also came two plays after Verdell found a hole off the left side of the line and scooted 74 yards on the first play of the second half. While he was ruled down at the one, it looked as if he may have scored on the play, an opinion Verdell wasn't prepared to dispute following the game.

“I thought I did," he said. "I’m not going to lie to you, yes, I thought I did. But, I guess I didn’t.

Verdell joked that "of course" he wished he'd stayed in the game to pay off the long run, but that he was happy Habibi-Likio "got the job done".

Verdell didn't play much after that long run. While he finished with 106 yards, the effort came on his lowest rushing output of the season. He tote the rock just nine times. Head coach Mario Cristobal said he suffered an "MCL tweak", but was not expected to be serious.

“I just got a little tweaked up," Verdell reiterated. "I should be good. I’m going to get some treatment tomorrow and see how it is."

Verdell is not the only running back dealing with injuries. Senior Tony Brooks-James was limited to return duties with an ankle injury, and Darrian Felix did not make the trip with a lower body injury of his own. That makes the timing of this week's bye week all the more perfect.

“We’re definitely going to use this by week to get in the training room and get fixed up, and get our legs back," Verdell said.