Campus Clash
(10) Utah Utes at (12) Oregon Ducks
Utah: Coming into the year, there were some high expectations for them. To some, they were predicted to be a playoff team and I understand why people say that because they came in ranked seventh in the country in the first AP rankings. Everything was set for them. They have one of the best Quarterbacks in the Pac-12 in Cameron Rising and an elite Running Back in Tavion Thomas. These two together make one of the best tandems in the country. Everything got off to a rocky start when they lost to the Florida Gators in week one. What’s the one thing I always say? It’s tough for West Coast teams to fly across the country and get a win out there. That unfortunately put a dent in their season losing to an unranked team. The last time the Utes played, they were handling business against the Stanford Cardinal and dominated the game. Stanford did get off to a quick start, but Utah rebounded and scored the final 42 points to win the football game. This is a scary team when they want to run the football. I’m an old school student and like seeing teams establish the ground game. The main issue concerning Utah has been inconsistent pass rush and their inability to miss tackles. Tackling and bringing someone down is a fundamental part of football. Also, you won’t be successful in this game if you don’t rush the passer and you can only blitz so much. On Saturday night, they’ll make a trip to Eugene for a conference battle.
Oregon: Okay, I can’t say it enough and I know I may sound repetitive at times. I’m over coaches costing their own teams a chance to win the football game! Coming into the week, I said on “College Football Showdown” that they were the second-best one loss team in the country behind, you guessed it, the Tennessee Volunteers. Entering Saturday, they controlled their own destiny in the Pac-12. That was a tough way to lose a game as they fell short to the Washington Huskies. After falling short, they are no longer in first place in the conference and it’s because of Dan Lanning, the head coach who made a rookie mistake. Dan decided to go for it on fourth and one on their side of the field and they didn’t get it. Washington then capitalized on that, moved the ball down the field, kicked the field goal and won the game! Despite that hiccup, I’m proud of how this team has persevered since that opening game against Georgia back in September when they were blown out by the defending champs. This is the best I’ve ever seen Bo Nix look as a Quarterback and that change of scenery was much needed for him. He’s continued the trend of high-flying offenses in Eugene. I can’t wait to see what Dan does with the defense in the next few years. Let him recruit, get his players and go from there. On Saturday, they’ll look to bounce back.
Utah X-Factor: Devaughn Vele– He goes under the radar some because of all the attention that Rising and Thomas each receive. Devaughn is a key contributor to this offense. He’s a 6’5 receiver that creates problems for any defense trying to slow him down. Devaughn is quick with the ability to track the football down and has that wide catch radius. This is also a versatile football player because he can also return punts.
Oregon X-Factor: Bucky Irving– He transferred over from Minnesota to come play in Eugene. He’s a contact runner that can run the ball up the middle or bounce it outside of the tackles. Bucky is tough to bring down on first contact. He glides through traffic and never shies away from contact. Bucky’s not just a runner. He can also catch the football out of the backfield and in today’s style of football as a Running Back, you must be able to catch the ball in checkdown situations.
Final Thoughts: A playoff spot looked to be bright in both of their futures, but that’s not happening this year. Oregon still has a chance to make the conference title game while Utah can prevent that from happening. Can this Oregon defense get after Rising? Also, they’ll need to bottle up Tavion Thomas and make Utah throw the football. How healthy is Nix entering this contest? He got hurt on Saturday against the Washington Huskies. I’ll be watching to see how 100 percent he is. This Utah defense has gradually peaked as the year has gone on. Look for them to get after Nix with many different looks, stunts and pressures. I expect the ball to fly all over the field in this game.
Prediction: Oregon 33, Utah 31
