Three Storylines That Could Determine Winner Of Utah/Oregon In Pac-12 Title Game
Dec 3, 2021, 10:55 AM
Tavion Thomas #9 of the Utah Utes rushes for a touchdown against the Oregon Ducks during their game November 20, 2021 at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The University of Utah football team will have a rematch with the Oregon Ducks, this time to determine the Pac-12 Champion.
Utah and Oregon met on November 20 at Rice-Eccles Stadium with the Utes picking up a 38-7 win on primetime national television.
A similar stage is set with the game being televised on ABC in primetime but with higher stakes at a state-of-the-art NFL stadium.
Here are three storylines that could determine the winner of Utah/Oregon at Allegiant Stadium in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
1. The Ultimate Chess Match
Utah knocked Oregon out of contention for the College Football Playoff two weeks ago after handing the Ducks their second loss of the season. The Utes showed a lot of what they can do at a high level in all three phases.
They had an outstanding performance on offense, defense and special teams. Utah had four rushing touchdowns on offense, dominating the run game, along with holding Oregon to just seven points and 63 rushing yards.
They also had a punt returned for a touchdown and made their only field goal attempt. Oregon will certainly make significant adjustments in all three phases. Utah won’t roll through this game like they did two weeks ago but they will need to adjust to what Oregon does as well.
GAMEDAY pic.twitter.com/1aLDmkYcQ5
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) December 3, 2021
2. Oregon’s Motivation
After losing by 31 points on a big stage with so much at stake, Oregon blew a prime opportunity to make a statement to not only the Pac-12 but to the nation.
“There is no other motivating factor, they embarrassed us,” Oregon safety Verone McKinley said this week. “As soon as the Oregon State game was over, we celebrated for a couple of hours but now we have some unfinished business.”
That has been the message among the Ducks this week as they prepared for the Utes. How much motivation they play with will be seen on the football field at Allegiant Stadium.
Pac-12 Championship.
Get Locked in. 🔒#GoDucks pic.twitter.com/6IeeoTQxj3
— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) December 3, 2021
3. Trench Battle
Utah dominated the trenches on both sides of the ball on November 20. They racked up 208 rushing yards and four touchdowns on offense, creating many holes for Utah to attack in the run game. Bamidele Olaseni, Braeden Daniels and the tight ends did a tremendous job blocking Oregon star Kayvon Thibodeaux.
On the other side, Utah held Oregon’s prolific rushing attack to 63 yards. The Utes piled up three sacks and five tackles for loss in the process.
In the 2019 championship game, Utah’s offensive line was having trouble containing Thibodeaux. This group is more experienced and talented than 2019, while showing massive strides since the start of the season.
Thibodeaux will certainly have a better showing but can Utah contain him like they did two weeks ago? That remains to be seen.
Utah and Oregon will kickoff at 6 p.m. MT on ABC.
Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com, Co-Host of Faith, Family and Football podcast with Clark Phillips III and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports.
