Takeaways from the Utah Utes' 38-10 Pac-12 championship game win over Oregon Ducks
The sequel was even worse than the original.
Tenth-ranked Oregon fell to No. 17 Utah 38-10 on Friday in the Pac-12 championship game in Las Vegas that was more puzzling and bewildering than their game Nov. 20 in Salt Lake City. In that game, Utah jumped out to a 28-0 halftime lead en route to a 38-7 win that ended Oregon's College Football Playoff hopes.
The themes from the first game surfaced again Friday as the Ducks (10-3) were manhandled at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, fell behind 23-0 at halftime, and never mounted a serious threat past the midway point of the second quarter.
It was the first loss in five tries for Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game as the Ducks were seeking to become the first team to win three straight conference championship games. Instead, Utah (10-3) avenged its 37-15 loss to Oregon in the 2019 title game. The loss was only the second one in 11 games for the North Division. The only other time a team from the South Division won the Pac-12 championship game came in 2017 when USC beat Stanford 31-28.
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With a Rose Bowl berth on the line for both teams, the Ducks had their worst performance in recent memory in a big game.
Here are four takeaways from the game.
Were the Ducks even interested in this game?
It's hard to believe that with a Rose Bowl at stake, a team wouldn't be focused and interested in the game.
But Oregon had a number of false-start penalties, a delay of game penalty after a kickoff, a snap that bounced back to quarterback Anthony Brown and another errant snap that Brown fell on at the 1-yard line on another possession.
The Ducks often looked dazed and confused. A team that made its third straight appearance in the conference championship game and had won at Ohio State earlier this season played unsure of itself throughout the contest.
Nothing changed from the first game
Oregon players and coaches said this game would be different. Of course, they would say that, but nothing changed.
In fact, things were worse for Oregon than the first game. The Ducks, third nationally in third-down conversion percentage, couldn't convert a third down until there was less than five minutes left in the third quarter.
More: Game balls from the Pac-12 championship game
At halftime, Oregon had as many first downs (3) as Utah had touchdowns (3). Utah, which was eighth nationally in third-down conversions, constantly found itself in short third-down situations again by staying ahead of the sticks on first and second downs.
And once again, Oregon killed itself by giving up late scores in the first half that made a manageable deficit into a landslide by halftime.
In the first game, Utah had two touchdowns in the final two minutes of the half to turn a 14-0 lead into a 28-0 halftime advantage.
In the rematch, Oregon trailed 14-0 when Utah got a touchdown pass with 27 seconds left and added a 50-yard field goal from Jadon Redding on the final play of the half after Brown threw his second interception of the half. That gave Utah a 23-0 halftime cushion and all of the momentum.
Will the Ducks be interested in the Alamo Bowl?
Three weeks ago Oregon was ranked third in the College Football Playoff rankings and appeared to be a lock to make its first playoff appearance since 2014 if it won out.
That came crashing down with the 38-7 loss to Utah on Nov. 20.
But the Ducks knew they could still go to the Rose Bowl with wins over Oregon State and Utah in the Pac-12 championship game. The Ducks accomplished the first part of that with a 38-29 win over the Beavers last week but not the second and most important part.
As the North Division champs and Pac-12 runner-up, the Ducks appear headed to the Dec. 29 Alamo Bowl in San Antonio where they will face either Baylor or Oklahoma.
More: The boxscore from the Pac-12 championship game
The Ducks beat Texas 30-7 in the 2013 Alamo Bowl. The Ducks lost 47-41 to TCU in triple overtime in the Alamo Bowl following the 2015 season when Oregon blew a 31-0 halftime lead.
How interested or motivated will the Ducks be to play in the Alamo Bowl after they appeared headed to the Rose Bowl or the College Football Playoff? If the Ducks draw Oklahoma, how interested will the Sooners be in that game after Lincoln Riley left to become the coach at USC?
Teams that have lost the Pac-12 championship game are 0-9 in bowl games; USC didn't play in a bowl game after losing to Oregon 31-24 in last year's Pac-12 title game. The Ducks are hoping to be the first Pac-12 title game loser to win their bowl game.
Utah isn't going anywhere
The Utes appeared in their third conference championship game in four seasons and are well positioned to return often.
Utah has a nice blend of youth and experience on its roster. Two redshirt freshmen started on the offensive line Friday and a third starter was a sophomore. The Utes' top three tight ends are juniors, quarterback Cameron Rising is a sophomore, as is running back Tavion Thomas, who set the single-season school record for rushing touchdowns.
Three of the Utes' four defensive line starters are freshmen and a number of players in the secondary are freshmen, too, including safety Cole Bishop, who led the Utes in tackles in both games against the Ducks. Linebackers Nephi Sewell and Devin Lloyd are juniors but it's hard to believe Lloyd, the likely Pac-12 defensive player of the game and Pac-12 championship MVP, won't be off to the NFL.
Contact Ashley Conklin at aconklin@registerguard.com or 541-338-2337, and follow him on Twitter @Ashleyrgsports
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Takeaways from the Utah Utes' 38-10 Pac-12 championship game win over Oregon Ducks
