EUGENE -- Few teams in college football have the luxury Oregon does in its backfield.



With Royce Freeman, Tony Brooks-James and Kani Benoit, the Ducks have three capable, veteran running backs. Any of the three could be a featured back at many programs. Finding ways to get all three involved qualifies as a good problem to have.



In its 42-35 win Saturday against Nebraska, Oregon debuted a three-back set coach Willie Taggart had hinted at in preseason, with one running back on either side of quarterback Justin Herbert, and another behind him, as in a Pistol formation.



"You like that?" Taggart said Monday.



But make no mistake: Oregon's plan remains getting Freeman, the trio's headliner and college football's active leader in rushing yards, as many touches as possible.





Through two games, UO's single-season rushing record-holder has 52 rush attempts -- including 29 against Nebraska that tied his career-high -- and gained 303 yards on the ground, the seventh-highest total in the Football Bowl Subdivision.



"Royce is a pretty big guy and a pretty tough guy," Taggart said. "We're going to feed Royce unless Royce say he doesn't want to be fed."



Freeman has made the most of his touches.



He's gained 10-plus yards on 13 carries, the most in the country, and rushed for 18 first downs, which ranks second. His six total touchdowns also are tied for the national lead. In his career, he's rushed for 4,449 yards -- 633 behind UO's career record-holder, LaMichael James. Freeman's average of 125.3 all-purpose yards per game also ranks fourth-most among active players.

"We don't have a target number" for carries, Taggart said. "We just go out and run our offense and no matter which back is back there we feel like we can go out there and execute our offense."



Freeman followed his 150-yard performance against Southern Utah with 153 against the Huskers, and that consistency hasn't been lost on oddsmakers, among others.



Freeman's odds of winning the Heisman Trophy were 60-to-1 following the first game, but since the Nebraska win have improved to 20-to-1, according to VegasInsider.com. Only six players currently have better Heisman odds: Louisville's Lamar Jackson, the reigning Heisman winner, Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield, USC's Sam Darnold, Oklahoma State's Mason Rudolph, UCLA's Josh Rosen and Penn State's Saquon Barkley.



"What concerns you about Oregon as a team is that they are balanced with a quarterback who can throw the ball and capable receivers, either tight ends or wide receivers," Wyoming coach Craig Bohl said during a conference call with reporters Monday. "They make you cover the whole field and combined with an excellent running attack that poses problems as to how you deploy defensive guys."

-- Andrew Greif

agreif@oregonian.com

@andrewgreif