Utah sent a message with its 34-32 victory at USC last week — the Utes, who have dealt with a litany of injuries this season, aren’t going anywhere.
It sets up a critical matchup Saturday between No. 13 Utah and No. 8 Oregon at Rice-Eccles Stadium, a contest that has drawn “College GameDay” back to Salt Lake City.
Both programs are 6-1 on the season and 3-1 in Pac-12 play.
Ahead of the final weekend before the season’s first College Football Playoff rankings are released on Oct. 31, ESPN’s Heather Dinich explained why she believes both the Ducks and Utes can make a strong case to stay in playoff contention.
Dinich ranked the top one-loss teams with the best chance to make the playoff, and Oregon comes in at No. 2, with Utah at No. 4.
Other programs atop Dinich’s list include the Big 12’s Texas at No. 1, the SEC’s Alabama at No. 3 and the Pac-12’s Oregon State at No. 5.
The Beavers were the lone team to beat Utah so far this season, upending the Utes 21-7 at the end of September.
Dinich cited Utah’s nonconference win over Florida and victories over ranked Pac-12 teams UCLA and USC as major contributing factors why they are so high on her list.
What would it take for the Utes, who finally closed the door on the possibility of injured stars Cam Rising and Brant Kuithe playing this season, to break through and make the playoff?
“Utah finishes as a one-loss conference champion,” Dinich wrote. “It’s not a complicated formula, but the Utes still have to face both Oregon and Washington. The ideal scenario would be for Utah to beat Oregon State in the conference title game to avenge its regular-season loss. It will also help Utah if Florida finishes the season in the CFP top 25.”
The Ducks’ lone loss came in a back-and-forth thriller against No. 5 Washington two weeks ago.
Oregon’s path to the CFP would require victories over Utah, USC and Oregon State, plus whoever the Ducks would play in the Pac-12 championship game.
Dinich noted, though, that a one-loss scenario played out last season that Oregon (or Utah) could follow: USC, with one loss, was No. 4 in the CFP rankings heading into the Pac-12 title game before a second loss to the Utes knocked them out of contention.
“The Ducks need to run the table and win the Pac-12 — ideally in a rematch against Washington. They also need the other top teams in the league — Oregon State, Utah, USC, Washington — to stay ranked by the committee,” Dinich wrote.
“Those conference wins against ranked opponents will help compensate for a weak nonconference schedule that included Portland State, Texas Tech and Hawaii. If Oregon gets into a side-by-side comparison with Texas, it will need its Pac-12 opponents to be ranked — and it could also have concerns about a common opponent in Texas Tech. The Ducks beat the Red Raiders 38-30 in Week 2, and Texas ends the regular season against them on Nov. 24.”
That sets the stage for Saturday’s game between Utah and Oregon to have a significant impact on the CFP race.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times’ Brady McCollough rated the playoff resume of 10 top college football teams, classifying schools as either a contender or pretender.
McCollough rated Washington as a pretender — the Utes play the Huskies in Seattle on Nov. 11 — and Oregon as a contender.
“Oregon has a balanced offense that can create explosive plays whenever it wants, and (Ducks coach Dan) Lanning has the defense rounding into form,” McCollough wrote. “The Ducks are one of the most complete teams in the country and have the schedule to get to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 title game, where they will be a favorite against whomever they meet.”