The only thing missing Saturday at Autzen Stadium was the obligatory griping of Scrooge McDuck.
And a quarterback.
And a running back.
And a few receivers ready and able to catch some footballs.
16 straight wins turned into quack, quack, quack for an Oregon program in early-season shambles.
It rained, and it most certainly poured on the visiting Utes, as they saw their streak of 20 months straight minus a loss come to a sloppy, question-filled end in Eugene, Ore.
Do not rush to conclusions, Terrance Cain is talented kid. He's got the vision, tools and mentality to run a spread offense. Just not against a team like the Ducks, as we saw.
Either he wasn't ready, or he isn't. Either/or.
There was a time toward the end of the second quarter, that the Utah quarterback was 4-for-17. Sure, it was raining bullets, but it seems like in a system like the Utes sport, the numbers have to be improved—drastically.
Somehow, somewhere, Utah fans were trying to page Brian Johnson.
Cain's inability to obtain a consistent flow wasn't the only negative showcased.
Not by a long shot.
A 55-percent Matt Asiata was incessantly gobbled up whole by the swarming Ducks, Eddie Wide had three looks for negative rushing yards, and the athleticism of the Oregon defense obviously rattled the mindset of the Utah offense.
The ever-reliable David Reed was off beaten up. Jereme Brooks couldn't hold onto the football, and the magic that was the 2008 Utes seemed like a more-than-distant memory.
After all, those guys did everything right.
They caught all the breaks. They matched intensity. They stopped hearts. They caused migraines. They won.
As Cain lofted a desperation pass toward Brooks in an effort to knot the game up at 31 late in the fourth, anyone who's watched Utah over the past two seasons expected the impossible to be flipped on its back.
Brian Johnson wasn't behind center, he wasn't leading a game-winning drive and Cain's under-thrown pass intended toward the pylon drifted into oblivion for his second interception in three minutes.
That was that.
Defensively, the Utes are as athletic as they've ever been, but when big plays are given up on a regular basis, you cannot expect to win football games against a Pac-10 team as talented as the Ducks.
The minuscule LaMichael James caused Kalani Sitake headaches. He couldn't be wrapped up and essentially wrapped up the win for Oregon with his impressive second-half performance. Jeremiah Masoli was a basic non-factor through the air, going 4-for-16 for 95 yards and one interception.
Many kudos to the defense, for proving it wasn't its first rodeo and keeping the game in striking distance for the offense to come back and make the plays necessary to silence Autzen.
Robert Johnson did it twice, but alas, it wasn't meant to be.
Utah limited their opponent. They crippled them in one facet of the game, yet couldn't accomplish any leeway on another.
Whether they like to admit it or not, Utes fans have been thoroughly spoiled by a dream season that no one ever really saw coming and will be continue to be for a long time coming.
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