Royce Freeman joined esteemed company upon bursting through Arizona State's defense during a career-long 64-yard touchdown run last Thursday, becoming the fourth Oregon Ducks running back to rush for at least 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons.

Only Maurice Morris (2000-01), Onterrio Smith (2001-02) and LaMichael James (2009-10-11) can boast membership in that club alongside Freeman, the UO sophomore from Imperial, California.

Four days later Freeman joined another group of distinction when he was named one of 20 semifinalists for the 79th Maxwell Award, given to college football's most outstanding player. Quarterback Marcus Mariota was

and is Oregon's only winner of that award.

Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott and TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin are repeat semifinalists, while Utah running back Devontae Booker, USC quarterback Cody Kessler and Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey join Freeman from the Pac-12 Conference.

He stands among the nation's best running backs statistically, and could be among the backs up for the Doak Walker Award when it announces its own semifinalists later this month. Freeman's 138.6 rushing-yard average ranks eighth-most among FBS backs, and only Wyoming's Brian Hill has more runs of 10-plus yards this season than Freeman's 39.

Freeman now ranks seventh all-time at Oregon with 32 career rushing touchdowns and his 12 career 100-yard games are third-most at UO, behind Kenjon Barner and Jonathan Stewart's 14 and LaMichael James' 26.

The Maxwell Football Club also announced Monday its semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award, given to college football's most outstanding defender, but Ducks defensive end DeForest Buckner did not make the cut after being on the award's preseason "watch list."

Buckner, a senior, has a team-leading 11 tackles for loss and six sacks along with 44 tackles, which are third-most for the Ducks. Those numbers helped him get added in late October to the midseason watch list for the Ted Hendricks Award, which goes to the top defensive end.

-- Andrew Greif

agreif@oregonian.com