Oregon WRs Dakorien Moore, Gary Bryant Jr. expected to miss Friday night matchup vs. Minnesota due to injury

No. 8 Oregon is expected to be without wide receivers Dakorien Moore and Gary Bryant Jr. for Friday night's game against Minnesota, sources tell CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz. Moore and Bryant are two of Oregon's top three receiving options with a combined 742 yards and seven touchdowns through the air this season. 

This will be the second consecutive game that Moore has missed, as he was sidelined for Oregon's Week 11 win against Iowa after suffering a knee injury in practice. Bryant was carried off the field in the first quarter against the Hawkeyes. 

It didn't take long for Moore, who signed with Oregon in 2025 as the nation's top-ranked wide receiver prospect, to emerge as one of quarterback Dante Moore's top targets. Moore had 69 yards and a touchdown on just two catches in Oregon's Week 2 win against Oklahoma State, which marked his debut against Power Four competition. He's dipped below 40 yards receiving just once in seven games since and his 15.8 yards per catch ranks sixth in the Big Ten among receivers with at least 20 receptions on the season and first among the conference's true freshmen. 

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For Bryant, this is his third season at Oregon and sixth year of college football. He started his career at USC and transferred to Eugene after three seasons with the Trojans. 

Moore, a product of Duncanville, Texas, initially chose the Ducks over offers from almost every major program in the nation, including the in-state powerhouse Texas Longhorns. He filled an immediate need for Oregon, which lost three of its top four receiving targets from the 2024 season.

To compound matters, Evan Stewart, Oregon's top returning wide receiver, suffered a preseason knee injury that has sidelined him for the entirety of the 2025 campaign thus far. There is a chance that he returns late in the year. 

With Moore and Bryant unable to go, Oregon will rely on Malik Benson and Jeremiah McClellan, who each have at least 200 yards receiving this season, against the Gophers. McClellan, a redshirt freshman and former top-100 prospect in the 2024 class, could start alongside Benson at one of Oregon's outside receiver spots. 

Oregon improved to 8-1 overall, 5-1 in Big Ten play and moved up to No. 8 in the College Football Playoff rankings following the win in Iowa City. The Ducks have matchups with two former Pac-12 foes -- No. 17 USC and Washington -- to close out the regular season. The Nov. 22 game vs. the Trojans will be played at home in Eugene before a trip to Seattle on Nov. 29.