Oregon football all business in impressive win at Utah
Oregon football has now had several key road games, which started with Texas Tech. The Ducks lone blemish on the schedule came on the road vs Washington where they had a chance at the end.
The Ducks were on the road at Utah and came out playing well on both sides of the ball in a 35-6 win, shutting out the Utes on the second half and allowing just two field goals.
The Oregon offense leader, Bo Nix, is resetting the record book with each start with 55 career starts under his belt, the most for a quarterback in the NCAA. It showed in front of a national audience again on Saturday.
Oregon racked up 21 points in the first half, putting Utah behind 21-6 at halftime. The Ducks took the crowd out of the game early, the seats started clearing out midway through the third quarter. Utah put up just under 250 yards on offense and had two turnovers which Oregon turned into 14 points.
While the Ducks offense was humming, it was the defense that had a day. Evan Williams was everywhere on the field and it felt like he made every tackle. He finished the game with 7 tackles, including three for a loss and a pass breakup.
The Ducks’ defense went after Bryson Barnes all day. Barnes finished the game 15 for 29 for 136 yards and two interceptions. He was sacked twice and had three of his passes broken by Oregon defenders.
The Ducks defensive rotation was impressive with twenty-four players seeing the field during the game. Utah had fourteen in the game. Outside of the starters, the Utes had just five players in backup roles on defense.
Oregon Head Coach Dan Lanning said following the victory that it was a complete game played on offense, defense, and special teams. It also ended the Utes’ 17-game winning streak at Rice-Eccles stadium.
The first College Football Playoff numbers will be released on Tuesday. I would not be surprised if Oregon has a spot just outside the top four, despite their loss at Washington. The team showed on Saturday they can go on the road and take care of business.
Oregon now returns home for their next two games hosting California and USC. The Ducks and Golden Bears meet Saturday at 2:30 pm Pacific Time on Pac-12 Networks.
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