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Oregon Football: Ducks Rose Bowl Bound After Pac-12 Championship Win

By Justin Phillips

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 06: The Oregon Ducks mascot "Puddles" celebrates with a rose in his mouth while the Ducks were defeating the Utah Utes 37-15 in the Pac-12 Championship Game at Levi's Stadium on December 06, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 06: The Oregon Ducks mascot "Puddles" celebrates with a rose in his mouth while the Ducks were defeating the Utah Utes 37-15 in the Pac-12 Championship Game at Levi's Stadium on December 06, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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Oregon Football showed up on offense and defense in the Pac-12 Championship game flexing muscle over the Utah Utes in a 37-15 win.

The Oregon Ducks played one of their best games of the season against one of the most complete teams on both sides of the ball, but Utah had not seen a team like the Ducks until Friday night. Despite a let down over the last two games, Oregon took a business-like approach stepping up on the defensive side of the ball early and jumping out to a 20 point halftime lead.

Justin Herbert used his legs, which seems to be a rarity this season, but it worked to perfection keeping the Utah Defense off their game. The Ducks racked up 432 yards of offense, the most Utah has given up all season. For the Utes, Quarterback Tyler Huntley struggled to get things going in the first half as penalties were an issue. Oregon also struggled with early penalties.

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The story of the game was the Ducks Defense. Utah struggled to get past the Oregon 30 yard line in the first half of the game and there were playmakers all over the field led by Brady Breeze who had a first-half interception as well as several Sportscenter worthy tackles. He finished the game with 9 tackles, a pick, and a pass breakup. Another player for the Ducks who made a name for himself was Kayvon Thibodeaux.

Just a freshman, Thibodeaux has nine sacks on the season and 1.5 sacks on Saturday night along with a blocked punt. He tried to catch up with the ball, but it went out of bounds. He will be a player to keep an eye on as he develops with the Oregon Defensive Line in the coming seasons. Thibodeaux was able to show his closing speed on Friday night and it was impressive.

Offensively, total credit goes to the Line and the holes they opened for CJ Verdell. He ran for over 200 yards and three touchdowns. In fact, he may still be running. He also eclipsed 1000 yards on the ground for the season in the victory.

The Oregon Kicker, Camden Lewis has dealt with some adversity this season but had a great game vs Utah. While Utah had 15 points, between field goals and extra points, Lewis was accountable for 13 of the Ducks 37 points on the night.

While Utah was the most complete team in the Pac-12 coming into the game, Oregon Football played a complete game and came away with the Pac-12 Championship.

Oregon Football will face a likely Big Ten foe in the Rose Bowl on January 1st. The Big Ten Championship Game will be played Saturday at 8 pm between Ohio State and Wisconsin. The Ducks will face one of those teams or could see Penn State or Minnesota in Pasadena.

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