The No. 8 Oregon Ducks will go live for their second ESPN College GameDay appearance of the season when they take on No. 13 Utah Utes this Saturday. In another hostile, on-air match up, the Ducks will look to beat the Utes in Rice-Eccles Stadium for the first time since Justin Herbert was quarterback in 2016.
Oregon and Utah will both meet in Salt Lake City with the same win record — 6-1 overall with a 3-1 record in the Pac-12. Entering Week 9, the Ducks and Utes are also tied for the Pac-12 lead with 25 sacks on the season. Oregon has just two more sack yards than their upcoming opponents: 196 versus Utah’s 194 . Utes defensive end Jonah Elliss is the Pac-12’s individual sack leader with 10 on the season. No single Oregon player has more than four. It is evident that both teams have elite defensive lines.
To reach the endzone, both offensive lines are going to need to step up. Bryson Barnes is still behind the Utes’ ten men at quarterback. The former walk-on and back-up, who has been filling in for Utah’s injured star quarterback Cam Rising, helped the Utes narrowly escape former No. 18 University of Southern California last week — sending the Trojans down to 24th in the national ranking. Barnes and the Utes’ offensive line tore through the Trojan defensive front, despite taking heavy, even targeted, hits.
The dramatic win’s broadcast coverage captured USC quarterback and former Heisman frontrunner Caleb Williams speechless on the sidelines after the defeat. The No. 18 Trojans were at a loss for words — so much so, that the school did not make any players available to speak to the media postgame.
However, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham made notable news in the postgame conference, announcing that Rising and tight end Brant Kuithe, who both have yet to play this season due to serious knee injuries, will not touch the field for the rest of the year. The Utes will continue to have to do more with less and adapt their game, playbook and even players — like Sione Vaki.
Vaki, the 6-foot, 208-pound sophomore, has made a name for himself as a two-way player — recording six starts at safety, while also seeing time at running back and action from the wildcat formation. To minimize the risk of overworking the two-way sensation, the Utes may choose to prioritize Vaki’s offensive game and rest him more on defense this weekend. However, finding a replacement for the valuable Vaki at either position would be potentially just as risky for Utah’s strategy and success.
Utah’s offense has a strong running game and will try to wear out the Ducks’ defense. Oregon must contain prowess players like Barnes and Vaki, similar to how it effectively shut down Washington State University’s run game in Week 7, defeating the Cougars 38-24.
Fans may look to see more action out of Oregon linebacker Jestin Jacobs, who made his Ducks debut against WSU and contributed six tackles, including one of Oregon’s six sacks.
In addition to dominating on defense, Oregon must remain aggressively balanced on offense — protecting Bo Nix and propelling the forward pressure down the field. On average, Oregon is posting 553 total yards per game. The Ducks rank No. 16 nationally in scoring defense, and second in scoring offense this year.
Nix, who just set the NCAA record for career starts with 54, has 2,089 passing yards and 19 touchdowns so far this season. Nix and running back Bucky Iriving remain a dynamic and dominant offensive duo. Irving continues to steal the show and light up the scoresheet, where he is also recording essential yards and securing touchdowns.
Ultimately, Oregon will need to play a complete game — securing a victory is going to take all four quarters and composed play on both sides of the ball. The Ducks can’t afford a sloppy first half or slow start. Rather, they will need to score off the bat and get an early defensive stop.
Saturday’s game will mark the fifth straight contest between Oregon and Utah in which both the Ducks and Utes have been ranked. Oregon is 24-12 all-time against Utah with a 10-6 tally on the road. Last season, Oregon barely snuck out a win over the No. 10 Utes. However, this year Oregon faces them outside of Eugene and without Rising on the field — all under the national spotlight. The Ducks will need to tune out the noise to be successful and make Saturday’s game a sight to see for fans across the nation.
Oregon flies out from Eugene on Friday, giving the team a night to settle and seize the Salt Lake City energy before taking the field Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
