The No. 8 Oregon Ducks (7-1, 4-1 Pac-12) defeated the No. 13 Utah Utes (6-2, 3-2 Pac-12) 35-6 for the Ducks’ second-straight win after falling to Washington two weeks ago. Oregon beat Utah in Salt Lake City for the Utes’ first home loss since Dec. 5, 2020. The loss breaks a streak of 18 straight home wins and wins in 29 of Utah’s last 30 home games.
The Ducks started the game by marching down the field in a drive that culminated in a one-yard touchdown run by Bo Nix to start the scoring for the game. After stopping the Utes on their first drive, Oregon fumbled the ball for just its second turnover of the season. However, the Ducks’ defense held strong and held Utah to just a field goal despite giving Utah the ball on the 27-yard line.
Oregon responded with another long touchdown drive that ended with a Nix pass to Jordan James. Oregon took a 14-3 lead into the second quarter. The Ducks’ defense came up with an interception on the first play of the second quarter to take control of the game and quiet the crowd in a hostile stadium. Oregon capitalized on the field position and took a commanding 21-3 lead on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Nix to Troy Franklin.
Oregon and Utah traded punts for four straight drives before the Utes kicked a field goal to end the first half of play. The Ducks took a 21-6 lead into the halftime break.
The Ducks came out of halftime on a mission to make sure that Utah had no hope of coming back in the contest. The Oregon defense forced a 3-and-out on the Utes’ first drive of the half, then the Ducks’ offense marched down the field to score another touchdown, this one coming on a 9-yard rush from Bucky Irving.
A second interception from Oregon’s Tysheem Johnson set up a short five-play touchdown drive that ended in a 5-yard touchdown rush from Traeshon Holden to put Oregon ahead 35-6 with just over six minutes left in the third quarter.
A quiet fourth quarter from both teams, which saw no points scored by either team, left 35-6 as the final score for the game.
Nix supplemented a strong Heisman bid with an impressive 248-yard, two touchdown performance. He also added a touchdown on the ground to bring him up to three total scores for the day. Ty Thompson took over for the last drive, marking the sixth time this season that Nix has not had to finish a game.
The win over Utah now makes Oregon officially bowl game eligible with its sixth win over an FBS opponent. It also keeps the Ducks in contention for both the Pac-12 Championship Game and the College Football Playoffs.
The Ducks were led in rushing yards byIrving, who totaled 83 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Irving also added 36 receiving yards to get him up to 119 total yards in the game. Franklin recorded 99 receiving yards to lead the Ducks in the air. Franklin finished one yard shy of his sixth 100-yard performance of the season.
The Ducks earned a statement win over a highly-ranked Utah team, and now look to continue their impressive season against the California Golden Bears next week at Autzen Stadium.
