College Football Preview – Utah Utes vs. Oregon Ducks

The Pac 12 is hoping to have its first representative in the College Football Playoff in the last five years. This conference has been shut out since Washington was blasted by Alabama in 2016, but the Oregon Ducks are three wins away from making the CFP. Their win over Ohio State is the best non-conference win of the season, so they simply need to win out. That won’t be easy though, as the Ducks must knock off the Utah Utes twice in the next three weeks.

On Saturday, November 20, 2021, the No. 23 Utah Utes will host the No. 3 Oregon Ducks at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

College Football Betting Odds

Oregon +3

Utah -3

Total 59

The Ducks are 9-1 coming into this game, but they haven’t looked as dominant as other teams currently in position to make the CFP. Oregon went on the road and knocked off Ohio State, but this team only beat Fresno State, California, and UCLA by one score. The offense is one-dimensional with Anthony Brown under center, so the oddsmakers think there is a good chance they lose on Saturday.

Utah was dismissed after starting the season 1-2 in non-conference play. However, the Utes have since gone 6-1 against Pac 12 foes, and they have blasted USC, Arizona State, UCLA, and Stanford. They only beat Arizona by nine points last week, but they were likely prepping for this showdown in advance.

When Oregon Has the Ball

Offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead wants to run the ball as much as possible. Moorhead has some pretty innovative run schemes, and he has an excellent backfield to run this offense with Anthony Brown and Travis Dye. Dye has run for 908 yards and 12 touchdowns (6.0 YPA) with C.J. Verdell out for the season, and Brown has run for 551 yards and eight touchdowns (5.1 YPC) to give defenses something to think about when they try to pressure the quarterback.

Brown is completing 64.6% of his passes for 7.7 YPA with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. Those are nice numbers, but he has not been a very good passer. Dye leads the team with 32 receptions, and no other player has more than 25 catches for the Ducks.

Utah does a very good job against opposing quarterbacks. Opponents are throwing for 6.4 YPA and 207.1 YPG against the Utes’ secondary, and they rank in the top 20 in sack percentage. Their run defense has had some issues, but they have been much better over the last month or so.

When Utah Has the Ball

Inserting Cam Rising into the starting lineup changed Utah’s season. He has been much more dangerous than Charlie Brewer, and he is completing 63.5% of his passes for 7.5 YPA with 14 touchdowns and two interceptions. Rising is averaging 7.1 YPA, and he loves throwing to talented tight ends Brant Kuithe and Dalton Kincaid.

The Utes run the ball better than almost any other offense nationally. Utah is averaging 5.9 YPC, as Tavion Thomas and T.J. Pledger have both been great. Thomas has run for 6.1 YPC and 14 touchdowns, while Pledger is averaging 7.3 YPC with five touchdowns.

Oregon has done a nice job stopping the run this year. The Ducks have allowed 3.4 YPC and 117.4 YPG, and they have a superb defensive end in Kayvon Thibodeaux. However, we saw Stanford have success against this front seven by using heavy packages and overpowering them.

Prediction

The Pac 12’s CFP hopes will come to an end on Saturday night in Salt Lake City. Utah will knock off Oregon behind a dominant ground game.

Follow our Twitter account for the latest sports news and wagering odds, and come to our Instagram for more useful betting info too.