On Saturday, the Oregon Ducks bounced back from a tough loss to Washington by defeating Washington State 38-24. Bo Nix was 18-25 for 293 yards and 2 TDs. Bucky Irving had 15 carries for 129 yards and 2 TDS on the ground.
With the victory, Oregon moved to 6-1 on the season. This Saturday, Oregon will compete in another pivotal Pac-12 matchup against the battle-tested #13 Utah Utes. The Utah Utes have had to deal with a number of injuries. QB Cam Rising and TE Brant Kuithe are out for the season. As a matter of fact, seven players are out for the season for the Utes.
Nevertheless, the Utah Utes remain undaunted. For the fourth year in a row, they defeated the USC Trojans. This latest victory was due to a last-second field goal that left Caleb Williams and the USC fanbase miserable.
However, the Oregon Ducks are a different animal for Utah to be worried about. The Oregon Ducks have a better defense and greater balance in their offense. They will present a challenge that will be too much for the Utah Utes.
Currently, the oddsmakers have Oregon as a 5.5-point favorite over the Utes. Oregon has defeated Utah in 24 out of their 36 matchups overall. In the last eight matchups, Oregon and Utah are tied with four wins.
This will be the last time that the two schools will be meeting on an annual basis. Both schools will be playing in different conferences next season.
In this piece, we will examine three ways the Oregon Ducks will defeat the Utah Utes on Saturday.
Oregon’s defense matches up favorably against Utah’s offense.
While Oregon’s defense was tested against Washington and Washington State, they should be able to do much better against a passing offense that only averages 161.7 yards per game and 1 passing touchdown per game.
Oregon’s defense is ranked 20th in the nation. They will be one of the most formidable defenses that the Utah Utes have faced all season. Khyree Jackson and Jahlil Florence should match up quite well against Bryson Barnes and the Utah passing game.
I do not think that Bryson Barnes will challenge the talented Oregon secondary. Through 6 games, no receiver on the Utah Utes has over 300 receiving yards. Furthermore, only one receiver has over 20 receptions.
In terms of the matchup between Utah’s rushing offense and Oregon’s rushing offense, the matchup has to go to Oregon. Oregon’s rushing defense is 11th in the nation, averaging 95.7 yards per game. They should be able to limit the rushing attack of the Utah Utes.
This will force Bryson Barnes to make more plays through the air, which is problematic given the matchup with the Oregon secondary.
The Oregon running game will overcome a tough Utah rushing defense.
The Utah Utes have the 5th best running defense in the nation. They only allow 78 rushing yards per game. However, they will come up against the dynamic rushing attack of Bucky Irving and Jordan James.
Bucky Irving and Jordan James have combined to run for 1100+ yards rushing this season and 15 TDs. Irving is rushing for 7.5 yards this season, while Jordan James is averaging 8.0 yards per game. Oregon’s passing game will open things just enough for Irving and James.
While Oregon may not reach their average of 225.4 rushing yards per game this Saturday, it is plausible that this duo of Irving and James can gain between 150 and 175 yards. This will be enough to help Oregon beat Utah.
Utah will not be able to stop Oregon’s passing offense.
Utah’s passing defense is ranked 56th in the FBS. Thus, they appear to be ripe for the picking for an Oregon passing offense that has been largely dominant this season. The Oregon Ducks have averaged 326.1 passing yards through the air and have kept turnovers to a minimum.
Bo Nix should be able to strengthen his case for a Heisman Trophy this Saturday. He has a wide variety of receivers to throw to. 5 different players have had over 20+ receptions this year.
Troy Franklin is the creme de la creme in terms of receiving options for the Ducks. Troy Franklin has 768 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Other options include Tez Johnson, Terrance Ferguson, Traeshon Holden, and RB Bucky Irving.
After an emotional win over USC last week, it may be too much to ask for the Utah secondary to hold a receiving corps with so many weapons.
Prediction:
I believe the Oregon Ducks will beat Utah 37-23.
