[Update: University of Oregon spokesman Rob Moseley announced Monday night on Twitter that head coach Mario Cristobal said Mycah Pittman suffered a shoulder injury and would be out 6 to 8 weeks. The Ducks play Washington in Seattle on Saturday October 19th, eight weeks from now.]

Perhaps appropriately, October 1st is the 20th anniversary of the book franchise "Worst Case Scenario" by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht. In a humorous way the two taught readers how to survive a shark attack, quicksand or a volcanic eruption, as well as how to deliver a baby in the back of a car.

The book spawned a couple of television series, a board game and calendars, all based on the idea that planning for the most awful contingencies better prepares an individual or a group to handle whatever happens next.

Quick, you've just disturbed the sleeping place of a king cobra. What's your next move?

Someone ought to send a copy to the Hatfield-Dowlin Center. As of this weekend, senior wide receiver and special teams standout Brenden Schooler is out 6-8 weeks with a foot injury, promising freshman wideout J.R. Waters is out at least a month after surgery on his leg, while tight ends Cam McCormick and Jake Breeland have missed most of fall camp.

Worst scenario of all, standout true freshman slot receiver Mycah Pittman was banged up in Saturday's scrimmage while laying out for a pass, so hard he had to be carted off the field. After the scrimmage, Coach Mario Cristobal said he was still being evaluated after coming down on his shoulder. As of Sunday night there's been no update on his prognosis.

The rash of bad news is particularly troubling because going into fall camp, receiver was the big question mark on offense. The Ducks needed to replace leading target Dillon Mitchell, departed for the NFL. Plus they had to address the problem of the drops that plagued the group last year.

"Next man up" is emptiest of football platitudes. Pittman is a significant loss for this roster. His talent and work ethic translate to serious star potential, the capability to make big clutch plays that others on the four-deep simply don't have. His film study habits were unparalleled. To blithely suggest that someone less gifted and less driven will easily replace him is like cheerfully deciding the shark is just curious and wants to say hello. Aim for the eyes or the snout.

It'd be a shame to waste Justin Herbert's return due to a lack of reliable targets. New position coach Jovon Bouknight might want to put the rest of the unit in bubble wrap until the plane leaves for Texas.

Pittman has been vaulting up the depth chart since arriving midway through spring practice. He led all receivers in the Spring Game with 7 catches, then made himself the story of fall camp with highlight film plays, great study habits and ultra-reliable hands. He looked to be a big part of the answer at receiver. Some even projected him to be Oregon's leading pass catcher, a possible starter by midyear.

Trustworthiness is a huge quality in a receiver. Herbert needs a go-to guy to balance the offense, and the options, it seems, are dwindling fast.

12 days to go until Auburn. Three potential targets are stuck in quicksand and two are melting in hot lava. What do you do, coach?

The scrimmage brought with it some counterpoint by way of good news. Junior slot receiver Jaylon Redd, the Ducks leading returning pass catcher with 38 receptions for 433 yards and 5 TDs, grabbed a pair of touchown passes in the team's last dress rehearsal, one each from Herbert and backup Tyler Shough. Junior wideout Johnny Johnson III caught five balls to lead all receivers, one of them despite being hit right as the ball got there.

In all Herbert connected on 7 of 10 throws for 141 yards and two scores, Shough 7-11 for 115 yards and two TDs. Goducks reporter Rob Moseley said the wide receivers didn't have a single drop in the live 11-on-11 portion of the workout, just one by a tight end.

So it appears that the unit is making progress. Redd and Johnson were both starters last year. They've worked hard to hold on to their positions by improving their technique and consistency.

In a media availability Friday Justin insisted he has a lot of trust in all of them.

Of course, what's he going to say? Yet the results suggest the trust is well-founded, or at least better founded than it was a year ago.

Head coach Mario Cristobal said that McCormick and Breeland should be suited up and fully available by Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, news which dramatically improves the outlook at tight end. They are the most experienced and reliable targets at the position, by far. The rest of the unit had multiple lapses last season, dropped passes and missed blocks. One whiff led to a sack in the Redbox Bowl.

After the uniform reveal on Saturday there was one Duck left on the practice field. Juwan Johnson was running pass patterns, the ball fed to him by a couple of equipment guys with a Jugs machine. The graduate transfer has stayed out frequently to get extra work. He's been a model of effort and dedication since arriving midway through spring drills.

When Cristobal was an offensive lineman at Miami, the Canes had a receiver named Michael Irvin who went on to become a star with the Dallas Cowboys, elected to the NFL Hall of Fame in 2007.

At the U. Irvin used to run sprints after practice in a weighted vest.

The very best ones, Irvin, Jerry Rice, the great Chicago running back Walter Payton, had work habits like journeymen trying to hang on in the league.

At Penn State Johnson had a reputation for drops that cost him a starting slot and prompted his move west in search of a fresh start. The work habits he's shown, along with the effort he's made to bond with Herbert, including extra throwing throughout the summer, suggest he might be a guy the Ducks can depend on in the worst case scenario.

In Redd, JJ III, Bryan Addison, JJ Tucker, Juwan and Josh Delgado, Herbert has 14 days of rations and five dry flares in the life raft. Freshman sensation Sean Dollars could also help, slipping into the slot for a few bubble screens and vertical routes.

Working together and sleeping in shifts, they just might be able to row this thing to safety.