Oregon vs. Utah: TV Info, Spread, Injury Updates, Game Time and More
There to catch the No. 4 Oregon Ducks after finally exorcising their Stanford demons are the pesky No. 17 Utah Utes, the perfect team to take advantage of a letdown and act as the team that throws the inaugural College Football Playoff into complete chaos.
See, Oregon is finally over the hump and back in the CFP conversation after blowing away Stanford last week, 45-16. That loss to unranked Arizona (now No. 19) back at the start of October is slowly becoming a non-factor.
Unless the Utes have something to say about it.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Kyle Whittingham's team enters angry after an overtime loss to Arizona State but has the defense to play with any team in the nation.
One of Saturday's finishing blows has the potential to be a classic and ruin the lives of pollsters and the CFP committee in one swoop. Grab some coffee and make it a late night.
Dynamic Warfare
If Oregon has its way, Heisman contender Marcus Mariota will help the team jump out to an early lead and never look back.
It is not an unreasonable thought by any means, really. Mariota has completed 68.1 percent of his passes this year for 2,541 yards and 26 touchdowns to just two interceptions. Against the hated Cardinal, he unloaded for 258 yards and a pair of passing scores, not to mention another 85 yards and two scores on the ground.
The problem is, if Mariota and Co. stumble out of the gate on the road against a defense that gives up just 21.3 points per game on average, they might just be at the mercy of Utes running back Devontae Booker.
Booker is far from a household name, but he should be, considering he averages 5.4 yards per carry and has 990 yards and eight scores. The coaching staff decided to give the junior more than 11 carries for the first time in the team's fourth game, and since then it has been bombs away:
| Washington State | 24 | 178 | 7.4 | 76 | 1 |
| @UCLA | 33 | 156 | 4.7 | 15 | 1 |
| @Oregon State | 32 | 229 | 7.2 | 53 | 3 |
| USC | 26 | 102 | 3.9 | 24 | 1 |
| @Arizona State | 37 | 146 | 3.9 | 16 | 0 |
Whittingham himself knows the deal, sarcasm or not, as captured by ESPN.com's Kyle Bonagura:
The coin has two sides in a war of contrasting styles, of course. Oregon could just as easily jump out to that desired early lead and eliminate Booker from the equation.
It is the sort of chess match befit of a contest with such lofty consequences hanging in the balance.
Clipping the Wings
As hinted above, the Utah defense this season is one that should scare the Ducks.
In fact, while finally overcoming Stanford is a great highlight, a description by ESPN's Ted Miller rings very true when it comes to comparing the Cardinal and Utes this season:
What has doomed Mariota and his offense more than anything this season? Pressure, as noted by the team's five allowed sacks in that loss to the Wildcats, which was a part of 12 total in just a two-game span.
Here is where the chess on turf gets even more interesting—the Utes lead the country in the sacks department with a jaw-dropping 39 to date. One of the main reasons for the wild success of the unit has to do with end Nate Orchard, as explained by ESPN's Kevin Gemmell:
"But every offensive coordinator on Utah’s schedule schemes away from Orchard, and yet he’s still putting up huge numbers. And further, the guys around him (Hunter Dimick, Jared Norris, etc.) also have big numbers because Orchard makes those guys that much better. There are plenty of great individual defenders in the league. But Orchard makes an outfit that's already very good that much better.
"
With Tyler Johnstone already out for the year with an injury, keep in mind that right tackle Matt Pierson sounds like he will be out of action, too.
It is a horrific time for the Ducks to face an elite defense, but this is the hand a CFP hopeful was dealt.
When: Saturday, November 8, 10 p.m. ET
Where: Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah
Television: ESPN
Betting Lines (via Odds Shark):
- Over/Under: 61
- Spread: Oregon (-8.5)
Team Injury Reports
| Bralon Addison | WR | 08/05/2014 | is out indefinitely | Out | knee |
| Arik Armstead | DL | 11/05/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Utah | Questionable | ankle |
| Alex Balducci | DT | 11/02/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Utah | Questionable | leg |
| Tyler Johnstone | T | 08/11/2014 | will miss the entire season | Out | knee |
| Matt Pierson | T | 11/03/2014 | is doubtful for Saturday's game against Utah | Doubtful | knee |
| Andre Yruretagoyena | T | 09/08/2014 | is out indefinitely | Out | leg |
| Dres Anderson | WR | 10/29/2014 | will miss the remainder of the season | Out | knee |
| Tevin Carter | S | 11/02/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Oregon | Questionable | undisclosed |
| Uaea Masina | LB | 09/07/2014 | will miss the remainder of the season | Out | arm |
| Evan Moeai | TE | 11/02/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Oregon | Questionable | knee |
| Reginald Porter | CB | 08/15/2014 | will miss the entire season | Out | knee |
| Jason Whittingham | LB | 09/16/2014 | is expected to miss two months | Out | wrist |
Injury reports per The Sports Network, via USA Today.
Prediction
Utah is a great program headed in the right direction. The Utes at home, at altitude, is a scary thought for any team in the nation. This goes twofold for the Ducks, as this is right around the time of year the team usually folds and championship aspirations go up in smoke.
Not this time, though.
Oregon is playing the best ball of its impressive season at the moment. The offensive line is a serious concern, but getting Mariota to use his legs on rollouts has mitigated many of the issues in recent weeks, not to mention given the offense an additional boost.
The win will by no means come easy, but Oregon is a cohesive unit that has its eye on a trap game that a true contender will survive.
Prediction: Ducks 30, Utes 24
Statistics and info courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
