Campus Clash

(3) Oregon Ducks at (24) Utah Utes

Oregon: They’ve shown flashes at times of the team that beat the Ohio State Buckeyes. To be honest, I’m still trying to figure them out which is crazy to say considering the regular season is almost over. Since the loss to the Stanford Cardinal, they’ve won five in a row. Also, each time playoff rankings have been revealed, they have been ranked in the bracket of four teams. Some teams in college football don’t have an identity. They do. They are a running team and want to pound the football with the ground attack. Their offensive attack starts and ends with one guy. That’s Anthony Brown, the quarterback. He’s a dual threat that can do it all with his arm and legs. However, I’m not a fan of your quarterback rushing the ball a certain amount of times either. In his last game, Anthony carried the ball 17 times for 123 yards rushing. I’m all for a quarterback showing versatility, but he shouldn’t be the leading rusher either is what I’m saying. In terms of rushing, they average 223 yards per game and five yards per carry. With their defense, Kayvon Thibodeaux of course steals much of the spotlight. How about Noah Sewell? He’s such an exciting player to watch with how he dominates from the interior of the defensive line. On Saturday night, they’ll travel to Salt Lake City for a Primetime showdown.

Utah: I can admit I thought this was a rebuilding year for them. Here they are now closing in on another division title under Kyle Whittingham. People may not know this, but they are one of the best offensive teams in the country. Unfortunately, it’s been a rough year for them. On the field, they’ve had some inconsistencies. Off the field, they lost Aaron Lowe to gunfire and he tragically passed away. As of late, they were able to reclaim the Pac-12 South division lead with wins over the USC Trojans and Arizona State Sun Devils (who I had winning the division when I did my previews in the Summer!) One of the reasons of success is the quarterback who transferred from Texas, Cameron Rising. Just how good is this offense you ask? The Utes average a little over 35 points per game. They can also attack a defense with a balanced attack which is the way to do it. Utah has won six of their last seven games and are back into the top 25 poll for the first time since mid-September. Their defense isn’t as strong. They play in spurts on that side of the football and it sometimes gets them in trouble. That’s why the offense is heavily relied upon to sustain long drives to take pressure off the defense. They’re back at home this Saturday night with Oregon coming to town.

Oregon X-Factor: Johnny Johnson III– To some scouts, he has some Antonio Brown in him. He’s a very skilled receiver that can get past anyone. He just has that confidence in himself to where he can move down the field. Johnny has a nose for the football and most importantly, the end zone. If defenses don’t circle in on him, it could be a long day for whoever is trying to defend him.

Utah X-Factor: Tavion Thomas– He is their leading rusher for a reason. There’s nothing flashy about him which I like because he can naturally plant the foot and cut on a dime. Tavion had a huge game against Stanford a few weeks ago in which he scored four touchdowns in the first half. See what happens when you feed playmakers the football? You get results. Oregon sometimes slips up in stopping the run.

Final Thoughts: This is the biggest game of the year in the Pac-12. Both teams are closing in on winning their divisions. If that does happen, we will more than likely see these two go at it once again but for the conference title. Both of these teams can score and I can see this being a trackmeet. I need the running backs of Oregon to step up. I’m not with having the quarterbacks as the leading rusher of the team. For Utah, Rising needs to play the style of football that’s put them in this position right now to claim their division. I’ll be watching the Utes offensive line and their gameplan against Kayvon. Chipping him will be key.

Prediction: Oregon 35, Utah 31