One of the key storylines heading into the national championship game has been the adversity both Oregon and Ohio State have gone through with a number of key backups stepping up for the two teams.
The Ducks have been hit particularly hard by injuries, but the squad has suffered a big loss unrelated to injury just days before the title game.
Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich confirmed Saturday that wide receiver Darren Carrington is ineligible for the national championship game.
"It will not be a distraction," Helfrich said Saturday at media day for the national championship game. "It's a great, great thing to talk about and the only thing I'll talk about from that standpoint is confirm that it's an NCAA policy that is in play here and he's ineligible for this game, and we'll ride."
CSN Northwest first reported news Friday that Carrington failed an NCAA-administered drug test and would not be eligible for the title game. Oregon officials later on Friday confirmed that the redshirt freshman did not travel with the team to Dallas for the game. Helfrich on Saturday did not disclose any details beyond confirming that Carrington is ineligible.
"Distractions are distractions if you let them be," Helfrich said. "Having a loss is a distraction. Getting gets guys injured is a distraction. Media is a distraction. Winning big is a distraction. How you manage those things is what matters the most and our guys have managed all those situations very, very well."
It took about a week to receive the results of the random drug test administered to Carrington in the week before the Rose Bowl, according to ESPN. Oregon had an appeal on the Carrington ruling heard and denied, FOXSports.com reported.
Carrington was second on the team in receiving yards and had scored four touchdowns on the year as the big-play threat for Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota. However, the wideout had exploded in the past two games for the Ducks, racking up 14 catches for 291 yards and three scores.
"It's tough," Mariota said Saturday of the loss of Carrington. "We'll have to get the next guy ready."
The loss of Carrington leaves Oregon even thinner at wide receiver, given that redshirt freshman Devon Allen was lost to injury early in the Rose Bowl against Florida State on New Year's Day. Some combination of Dwayne Stanford, Keanon Lowe, Byron Marshall (a converted running back) and Charles Nelson will likely be asked to step up for the Ducks with Carrington out against the Buckeyes.
Indeed, Helfrich indicated Saturday that replacing Carrington would be a group effort.
"As always it's a combination of everything," he said. "We have a bunch of highly skilled guys that are very confident in what they're doing. Marcus is confident in those guys and we're confident in those guys."
Helfrich also said Saturday that senior running back Ayele Ford is not with the team after a positive NCAA drug test. Ford had three carries for 17 yards this season, playing in all 14 games.
You can follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.
