Fourth-down futility plagues Utah in loss to Oregon

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — As the Pac-12 Championship Game turned out, Utah’s first drive was a sign of things to come.

Unfortunately for the Utes, that opening possession fizzled in a failed fourth-down attempt on Oregon’s 33-yard line.

Running back Zack Moss said that first drive didn’t thwart the Utes’ overall chances, but the Ducks certainly made life difficult on them.

“The first drive, fourth-and-short, I don’t think that was detrimental to our offense,” Moss said. “We just never really got rolling and we played behind the sticks a few times. They have some good pass-rushers, so they made it tough on Tyler (Huntley) to do some things in the pocket.”

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Utah finished 0-for-4 on fourth-down conversions — a stat that plagued the Utes in their disappointing 37-15 loss Friday night.

Throw in a couple of interceptions — including a costly one in the end zone — and that tallied six turnovers for the fifth-ranked team in the nation.

Utah’s inability to punch the ball past the marker on fourth down eventually led to the Utes punting on the 40 while trailing 23-15.

MVP CJ Verdell then made the Utes pay with a 70-yard touchdown run.

“Yeah, not getting the fourth downs earlier played into it,” Whittingham said. “But when we were going earlier, it was a multiple-score game, a one-score game at 23-15. Wouldn’t have done anything different there. Like I say, we pinned them on the 10. I would have bet the house that our defense would have been able to get a stop. Number one run defense in the country. Had a lot of confidence in them at that point.”