EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -The crowd was instantly silenced at raucous Autzen Stadium when Dennis Dixon fell to the turf and grasped his knee.
The Heisman Trophy hopeful was tackled on an 11-yard run in the fourth quarter of No. 4 Oregon’s 35-23 victory over No. 6 Arizona State Saturday night.
Dixon went to the sideline unaided as fans chanted his name, but did not return to the game. He watched as backup Brady Leaf took over, but still wore his helmet and kept the knee loose by high-stepping.
“I kind of twisted my knee,” he said afterward. “It’s a little bit sore but I didn’t hear no pop, so that’s good.”
Dixon completed 13 of 22 passes for 189 yards and four touchdowns for Oregon (8-1, 5-1 Pac-10), and rushed 11 times for 57 yards.
Dixon has had at least one rushing touchdown in every game this season, but had not had one against the Sun Devils (8-1, 5-1) when he left the game.
“It was just a mild knee strain and he had a thigh bruise on that same leg from earlier in the game,” coach Mike Bellotti said.
Dixon said he wanted to return and asked Bellotti if he could, but in the end the decision was made to hold him out. Leaf completed 2 of 4 passes for 11 yards.
Oregon has a bye in the coming week before visiting Arizona on Nov. 15.
“I didn’t want to jeopardize it and he (Bellotti) didn’t want to jeopardize it,” Dixon said.
On the team’s third scoring drive, Dixon was part of all of Oregon’s 75 yards, completing all four passes for 56 yards and running three times for 19 yards.
On the season, Dixon has passed for 2,074 yards and 20 touchdowns with only three interceptions. He has rushed for 549 yards and eight touchdowns.
Tailback Jonathan Stewart said he joined the crowd in stunned silence when Dixon went down. But he could see the quarterback was fine as he went to the sideline.
He admitted that losing Dixon would hurt, but the team has equal faith in Leaf, the younger brother of former Washington State quarterback Ryan Leaf.
“It would be devastating for sure. All the losses we’ve had this year have been devastating,” Stewart said. “But with this offense, when someone goes down, someone else steps up.”
Earlier this season the Ducks lost top receiver Brian Paysinger, his replacement Cameron Colvin and running back Jeremiah Johnson to injury.
The Ducks were hit again Saturday when middle linebacker John Bacon tore his anterior cruciate ligament early in the second quarter. He will not return this season.
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