QUICKIE RECAP
If you didn’t know any different, you’d swear you were watching the game tape from two weeks ago when Utah crushed Oregon 38-7 as part of the regular season.
There wasn’t much difference Friday night in Las Vegas.
Utah once again used its physicality, coaching savvy, and a dominant defense to once again send Oregon back to Eugene with an embarrassing 38-10 loss.
Much like game one, this was all about the inefficiency of the Oregon offense which didn’t score in the first half and could only convert 4 of 12 third downs.
And while the Ducks offense prides itself on consistently running the football, they were only able to gain 74 yards on the ground and a paltry 221 yards of total offense.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Like the first game, Oregon was held scoreless in the first half and went into the locker room down 23-0.
After the first 15 minutes of play, Utah led 14-0. The Utes took an early 7-0 lead on the opening drive going 9 plays in 75 yards and scoring on a 2 yard rushing touchdown down by Tavion Thomas.
On the ensuing offensive possession by the Ducks, quarterback Anthony Brown threw an ill-advised pass that ended in a Pick 6 by Utah linebacker Devon Lloyd who raced 34 yards for the score and a quick 14-0 lead.
Early in the second quarter, the Oregon defense grabbed a pick of their own when Oregon linebacker Noah Sewell snatched a Cam Rising pass giving the ball back to the Ducks.
Looking to capitalize on the interception and an opportunity to retake some of the games momentum, the Ducks offense failed to convert on a 3rd and 7 outside of the Utah red zone forcing a long 44-yard field goal attempt which Cam Lewis missed badly to the left.
Oregon still trailed 14-0 at the 12 minute mark of the second quarter.
Moments later the Oregon defense once again forced a turnover when defensive lineman Kristian Williams tipped a Rising pass which safety Verone McKinley dove and secured at the Oregon 21 yard line.
But again, the Ducks offense couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity and were forced to punt.
Utah would strike again. The Utes offense drove the length of the field in 12 plays covering 74 yards in three and a half minutes and found the end zone on an 11-yard touchdown strike from Cam Rising to TE Dalton Kincaid. The point-after attempt failed giving Utah a 20-0 lead just before the break.
It appeared the Ducks would run out the clock and re-group at the halftime break, however, Brown threw another ill-advised pass which once again was intercepted by the Utah defense giving the Utes another scoring opportunity which they took advantage off. The Utes added another 3 points when their field goal team drilled a 50 yarder as time expired giving Utah a commanding 23-0 lead going into the break.
In the second half, the Ducks would finally find the scoreboard when Cam Lewis nailed a 42 yard field goal on their opening drive.
Later though, Utah would strike again when running back T.J Pledger found the end zone on a two-yard plunge. After converting the two-point conversion, Utah led 31-3 with 6:33 remaining in the third.
In the 4th quarter, Utah added another touchdown when the Rising navigated an 11 play – 62 yard drive that ended with a Tavion Thomas 3 yard score. It would be Thomas’ second rushing score of the game.
For the first time in the game, the Ducks would also find the end zone. With 5:17 remaining in the game, and garbage time in full swing, Travis Dye scored his 15th rushing touchdown of the season when he reached the end zone on a 2-yard score giving Utah its final margin of victory at 38-10.
“They won their match ups” said Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal in his post game press briefing.
“They won their match ups both from a coaching stand point and from an execution stand point. They did a better job than we did and there’s no excuse to make.”
GAME NOTES & STATS
From the very beginning, this was a game of inefficient play with few answers from the Oregon offense. In the first half alone, the Ducks had just 53 yards of total offense. Brown was sloppy in the passing game throwing two extremely poor passes resulting in two interceptions that led to 10 Utah points.
Take away those turnovers and the Ducks are only down 13-0 at the break and its an entirely different ballgame.
Brown ended the game converting 13 of 24 passes for 147 yards and the two picks. On the ground where Brown typically excels, he was minus 5 yards on 10 carries.
As a team, the Oregon offense rushed for just 74 yards and tacked on another 147 through the air for a total of 221 yards of total offense.
The leading ball carrier for the Ducks was once again Travis Dye who carried the ball 15 times for just 82 yards and the single score.
POSTGAME NOTEBOOK
- Utah is just the second team from the south division to win the Pac-12 Football Championship
Game, joining USC in 2017 (31-28 over Stanford). - Oregon lost for the first time in five trips to the Pac-12 FCG, winning in 2011, ’14, ’19 and ’20.
- Utah is the fifth team in the Pac-12 to win the Pac-12 FCG. Oregon leads the way with four
wins, followed by Stanford with three, Washington two and USC one. - Utah’s 38 points are tied for the fifth-most points in a Pac-12 FCG all-time and are the most sinceWashington scored 41 in 2016.
- Devin Lloyd is the fourth defensive player to win Pac-12 FCG MVP. All four of those awardwinners have come in the last six seasons.
- Lloyd’s pick-six was the fourth in Pac-12 FCG history and first since Byron Murphy’s
(Washington) in 2018. - Oregon’s 221 total yards were the third-fewest in Pac-12 FCG history.
• 2016 Colorado: 163
• 2018 Utah: 188
• 2021 Oregon: 221
• 2014 Arizona: 224
• 2020 Oregon: 243