Hours before the Oregon Ducks were set to take on Illinois on the road, the Ducks listed more key contributors on offense as out on the Big Ten availability report. Without much explanation or notice, Messiah Hampton and JalenLott were both listed as out on Friday night, despite not appearing on the injury report beforehand.
Lott and Hampton both did not make the trip to Champaign, and neither did Evan Stewart, who is dealing with an injury and a DUII charge, nor freshman offensive lineman Immanuel Iheanacho. That left the Ducks with Dakorien Moore and several unproven receivers for Dylan Raiola to work with on Saturday.
The Ducks had no downfield passing game to speak of, and the lack of weapons came back to hurt them in a 21-10 loss. Dan Lanning
wouldn't elaborate on whether the absences were due to injury or were disciplinary. However, does expect to have them back in the lineup very soon.
"We're just going to focus on the guys that were here on the trip today," Lanning said. "I anticipate having those guys (Hampton, Lott and Iheanacho) back next week."
He later expanded and said he anticipates Stewart returning next week as well after missing the past two games against Nebraska and Illinois.
Oregon's offense could surely use more firepower on the outside. The Ducks struggled to push the ball downfield with only Moore and Jamari Johnson available from the Ducks' usual options. Hudson Lewis stepped up with five catches for 68 yards, but Iverson Hooks was limited to one catch and Gatlin Bair was held without a catch.
The circumstances surrounding the absence of Hampton, Lott and Iheanacho remain unclear, but if the Ducks do get them back next week, the ceiling for the offense as a whole can only rise against Northwestern on Halloween.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Dan Lanning expects Evan Stewart, Oregon WRs to return vs. Northwestern
