Â
Â	Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Â	Oregon running back Jeremiah Johnson says he and the Ducks aren’t playing for second place in 2008.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Ted Miller

Oregon running back Jeremiah Johnson said he owns a “massive stiff-arm,” and he didn’t hesitate to use it when a reporter asked for some gossip on the condition of quarterback Nate Costa‘s newly — and vaguely — injured knee.

“I’m not really sure what’s going on with that,” he said. “I don’t know anything about that yet.”

Johnson, who’s coming back from his own knee injury, isn’t so resistant to talking about what he views as a changing of the guard at the top of the Pac-10.

The Los Angeles native said he and the Ducks aren’t playing for second place behind USC in 2008.

“We’re playing for first place and nothing less,” the 5-foot-9, 205-pound senior said. “It’s time for a new face to be the Pac-10 champions. I’m tired of seeing the Trojans be that champion.”

That might sound like a dubious boast — unseat the Trojans, please — but recall that Oregon was on its way to doing just that last fall before quarterback Dennis Dixon crumbled to the ground against Arizona.

Dixon’s injury received all the publicity — and for good reason; he was a leading Heisman Trophy candidate — but Johnson’s going down after six games significantly damaged the depth and versatility of the Ducks’ backfield, even with Jonathan Stewart as the dominant first option.

Johnson is an elusive runner who also is an outstanding receiver. He’s scored 18 touchdowns over the past three seasons — paydirt every 11.6 touches — and his running instincts are superior to Stewart’s.

He also doesn’t lack confidence. He said his goals are to break records and score touchdowns, and his team aspirations aren’t modest either.

“My main worry is to just win games, be undefeated in the Pac-10 and hopefully win a national championship,” he said.

Some folks might wonder how the Ducks could do that without Dixon and Stewart, but Johnson believes the Ducks spread offense and talent depth means it’s just plug-and-play.

“We’re all-around good,” he said. “People may say that we’re not going to be the same but we are. It’s just different names in the backfield.”

He’s not going to name a favorite quarterback between Costa and Justin Roper, who’s made a late challenge for the job, even before Costa hurt his surgically repaired knee Wednesday.

What’s the difference between the two? “One [Roper] is taller,” he said, laughing.

“Nate is a go-getter. He reads well. Roper, he is a tall, lanky guy who is smart,” he said. “I can’t really tell them apart because both are great quarterbacks. And like I’ve told every other reporter: If one goes down, I’d be comfortable with the next. Our offense can put any quarterback on the map. All the quarterback has to do is read the right coverages and make the right throws.”

Hmm… some quarterbacks might wonder if that’s a bit harder than Johnson makes it sound.

There are multiple options at running back, too. If Johnson is lightning, then many expect 229-pound JC transfer LeGarrette Blount — the star of spring practices — to provide the thunder. And Andre Crenshaw isn’t exactly chopped liver.

Johnson said he has no problem sharing the ball.

“I’m not a selfish guy,” he said. “I’ve been in two-back situations since high school.”

He also thinks the Ducks defense is going to be formidable this season. He calls the touted troika in the secondary — cornerbacks Jairus Byrd and Walter Thurmond III and rover Patrick Chung — the “Three-Headed Duck” and lauded the hitting ability of speedy linebacker Jerome Boyd (“He’s the one guy I try to avoid,” Johnson said).

“A lot of offenses are going to have a lot of trouble with our defense,” he said.

As for opposing defenses, Johnson’s stiff-arm is more than a rhetorical device. Johnson’s notorious shake-and-bake should prove he’s 100 percent back from his knee injury, and his stiff-arm figures to drive the point home.

“That keeps them on their toes because they don’t know when I’m going to throw it,” he said.