This might have been the most impressive win in the Dan Lanning Era.
The Ducks went into one of the more hostile environments in the country and totally flipped the script with a dominating 35-6 win over No. 13 Utah. Oregon’s win broke the Utes’ 18-game winning streak and if one takes out 2020, the Covid year, that streak was 27.
It also moved Oregon to 7-1 overall, 4-1 in conference action and puts it in prime position to reach the Pac-12 title game. The Ducks still have USC and Oregon State on the schedule, but both of those contests are in the friendly confines of Autzen Stadium.
When the Ducks scored a touchdown on their opening drive, no one could have suspected that to be the game-winning score. Utah was held out of the end zone for the first time since 2018 with a 10-3 loss to Washington.
The Utes did kick a field goal in the first quarter, but as they did all day long, the Ducks answered with a touchdown and they led 14-3 after 15 minutes of play. It was Jordan James who scored with 3:28 left in the opening period with an 18-yard reception where he was open in the middle of the field and sprinted across the goal line.
After Tysheem Johnson’s first interception, the Ducks quickly made it 21-3 as Bo Nix found Troy Franklin for a three-yard score.
A 21-3 margin is usually comfortable, but far from over. As it turns out, that was the backbreaker. Utah couldn’t maintain a significant drive all day long. They were held to just 99 yards on the ground and 241 total yards. In the last two games, Utah averaged 282 yards rushing. It shows how good the Oregon defense played and they were more than ready to strut their stuff.
The Utes added a field goal just before halftime to make it 21-6 and they had a chance to make a game of it at the start of the third quarter as they opened the second half with the ball.
But Oregon forced a three-and-out and proceeded to go 76 yards on 12 plays that resulted in a Bucky Irving nine-yard touchdown run to make it 28-6. It was reminiscent of all those off-tackle runs from CJ Verdell at Ohio State he and Irving were able to jog into the end zone.
From then on out, it was the Ducks playing out the game and to their credit, they upheld the standard they set early on and finished strong.
The Ducks managed to add one more touchdown, a Traeshon Holden five-yard “rush.” Nix went to his left and flipped it to Holden that was ruled a lateral. But it was a touchdown all the same and Oregon comes home with a huge victory.
Next on the docket is California, which is scheduled for Nov. 4 and a 2:30 pm PT kickoff on the Pac-12 Network.