Aside from a meeting of two undefeated teams late in the regular season, it just doesn’t get much better than this.
No. 8 Oregon at No. 13 Utah. Two one-loss teams. “College GameDay” in town.
“Of the teams in our conference, this is the team that I probably have the most respect for defensively, what they do and the pressure that they apply and how they game plan and change what they do game to game.” — Oregon coach Dan Lanning on the Utes
The stage is set for a massive late-October matchup between the Utes and the Ducks, with the loser potentially falling out of contention in the Pac-12 title race.
College Football Playoff implications are on the line as well. As unlikely as it may seem, Utah is still technically in the race for the CFP. After beating USC, the Utes would need to win out — including games against Oregon and Washington — but, somehow, some way, everything is still on the table for the Utes in late October.
Meanwhile, the stakes are just as high for the Ducks. After losing an instant-classic 36-33 game at now-No. 5 Washington on a missed 43-yard field goal, there’s zero room for error if Oregon wants to make it to the playoff.
“Both our backs are to the wall and it should be hopefully a great football game,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.
USC may be the most talented offense the Utes will face this season, but the Trojans have a major Achilles’ heel — its defense — which allowed a season-best performance from the Utah offense in the win.
Oregon, meanwhile, is as complete of team as you’ll find in the nation.
The Ducks are No. 2 in the nation in total offense (551.6 yards per game), with 326.2 yards coming though the air and 225.4 coming on the ground. Oregon is No. 20 in the nation in total defense, allowing 312.6 yards per game.
“Really good football team, very balanced, good offense — really good offense — really good defense. So there is no weakness. They’re a complete team,” Whittingham said.
Oregon has a Heisman candidate at quarterback in Bo Nix, and one of the conference’s best running backs in Bucky Irving. Nix is the third-most efficient passer in college football and has thrown only one interception. Couple that with a strong offensive line (Oregon has only given up four sacks this season, tied for third in the nation), and you’ve got a juggernaut of an offense.
Other than Nix and Irving, players to watch on the offensive side of the ball include running back Jordan James (598 carries for 463 yards and eight touchdowns) and receivers Troy Franklin (768 yards and eight touchdowns on 44 catches) and Tez Johnson (368 yards and four touchdowns on 28 receptions).
One of the most interesting matchups of the night will be Utah’s defensive line against Oregon’s offensive line. With a rebuilt offensive front, the Ducks have protected well so far and have been able to get plenty of push in the run game, but they will face their toughest defensive front yet, led by Jonah Elliss, who is second in the nation in sacks (10 total).
“Of the teams in our conference, this is the team that I probably have the most respect for defensively, what they do and the pressure that they apply and how they game plan and change what they do game to game,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said.
Oregon’s offense has been a well-oiled machine, but the Ducks haven’t faced anyone quite like Utah yet. Of Oregon’s previous opponents — Portland State, Texas Tech, Hawaii, Colorado, Stanford, Washington and Washington State — Texas Tech has the best defense of the seven opponents in terms of yards allowed per game, ranking No. 59.
Utah ranks No. 14 in total defense (295.4 yards allowed per game), allows just 17 points per game, and is the No. 5 rushing defense in the country, giving up just 78 yards per game. The Utes have faced some great rushing attacks like Oregon State and Cal, and have shut them all down for the most part. Can they keep up the elite defense against a balanced Oregon team?
“I I think their scheme, along with their talent, sets up really well for them in every game. So it’s somebody we have to be really prepared for. We have to think outside the box and do a good job against them,” Lanning said.
Utah’s secondary, which hadn’t been tested against an elite quarterback entering last week, held its own against Caleb Williams and the Trojans. USC, which was averaging 47.3 points per game before facing Utah, was held to 25 offensive points. There were a few coverage lapses, but overall, Utah’s secondary did a good job.
Buckle up, because here comes another elite offense for the second week in a row. Nix and the Ducks are averaging 47 points per game, second in the nation, and it’s going to take yet another fantastic performance from Utah’s defense to make this a manageable game for Bryson Barnes and Utah’s offense.
Lanning’s defense may make life miserable for the Utes on Saturday. On defense, the Ducks are tied with the Utes with 25 sacks on the season — tied for fourth best in college football. They’re No. 11 in rushing defense, and though they have allowed 217.4 passing yards per game (tied with Utah at No. 55 nationally), the Ducks have allowed just 17 points per game.
Unlike Alex Grinch’s USC defense, Oregon will not be caught off guard by Utah two-way sensation Sione Vaki.
In addition to being excellent at safety, Vaki’s role on offense has expanded each of the last two weeks, and he’s up to 232 rushing yards and two touchdown and 144 receiving yards and two scores.
“Not hard. He’s really good. You just watch what he’s done when he’s been in,” Lanning said when asked how difficult it is to scout Vaki. “He’s a really good player and again, they’ve used him in a lot of different ways, so I expect to see him on both sides of the ball. But yeah, they’re talented and they’re able to use those guys well.”
As for Barnes, he has grown more confident and comfortable since bouncing back from being benched in the Baylor game in September and he’s made the most of his second chance since being reinstated as the starter ahead of the Cal game.
He threw for 128 yards on 71.4% accuracy, adding 50 yards and a touchdown on the ground vs. Cal, then threw for a career-high 235 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for one more against USC. He also rushed for 57 yards, including a key run on Utah’s final drive to set up Cole Becker’s game-winning field goal.
“I think he’s getting more and more comfortable each week. What you appreciate as a football guy watching him play, the guy plays tough. I mean he’s fighting for hard yards there at the end of the game to put their team in position to win,” Lanning said.
“He took some big hits and got up and kept playing and he’s impressive. He’s dangerous as a runner. He has done a good job passing the ball. He’s gotten more efficient each week and they do a great job putting them in position and using his talents.”
Utah’s run game has been humming along with Ja’Quinden Jackson — Whittingham said Monday that he’s pretty much over the ankle injury that was slowing him down — and Vaki, but will have a big challenge in Oregon. So, too, will Utah’s offensive line — which made a change ahead of the Cal game, replacing Jaren Kump with Kolinu’u Faaiu at center, and has been gelling over the last two games.
Defensive back Evan Williams has been one of Oregon’s best players in coverage, and also has 3.5 sacks. Virtually all of the Ducks secondary has been fantastic in coverage this season, and Oregon has also been able to get pressure on quarterbacks, including Jordan Burch, who has three sacks and six tackles for loss.
It’s Oct. 27, and even with injuries like nothing Whittingham has ever seen in his long career, Utah is 6-1.
“The amount of injuries that they’ve dealt with and for him to be able to utilize defensive personnel on offense and shuffle positions and utilize offensive linemen at tight end, I think it’s just really impressive,” Lanning said.
“I know at the beginning of the year he spoke about the depth of his team, it’s starting to really show up. He has good depth, but they’re utilizing people in different ways than they anticipated when the year started and he’s done a great job coaching that group.”
It’ll be Lanning’s first visit to Salt Lake City as a head coach, and he’s preparing for a raucous crowd.
“I think it’ll be a great environment. I know that they get loud there. I know that they love their team, so it should be a lot of fun for us,” Lanning said. “I think that speaks obviously to the job that Utah has done this year and the job that we’ve done this year to put ourselves in that position to have ‘GameDay’ there.”
The latest chapter between the Utes and Ducks — and there have been some good ones — is setting up for another monumental game.
“This is going to be a fun opponent. It’s a really good team, extremely well-coached. They’ve done a phenomenal job at utilizing their personnel and have some really talented players on their team, so it’s going to be fun for us to get out there and play them,” Lanning said.
