UTAH 0/0/15/0 - 15
OREGON 10/10/3/14 - 37
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - After the loss to Arizona State earlier in the season, the Oregon Ducks lost some of their luster. Meanwhile, Kyle Whittingham’s 11-1 Utah Utes were still in the playoff race after recovering from a loss in their conference opener to USC, finishing the regular season on an eight game winstreak. However, the Utes - who prided themselves on being a physical football team - were outmuscled on both lines by the high-flying Ducks of Oregon.
Utah started with the ball, and for a few minutes it appeared the combination of quarterback Tyler Huntley and Zack Moss would continue their warpath through the PAC-12, but on fourth-and-1 at the Oregon 33 the Duck defense came up big when Brady Breeze was able to break through the line to slow down Moss enough for the rest of the defense to gang tackle him behind the line. Then, as they had done all season, Justin Herbert and the Oregon offense capitalized on their favorable field position by traveling 67 yards in nine plays to reach the end zone with a three-yard run from CJ Verdell. The drive started with a failed play on first down in which Johnny Johnson III took a huge hit on a play that lost a yard, but three consecutive carries from Herbert gained 27 yards and helped open up the Utah defense for the eventual score.
The Oregon defense stayed strong by forcing a three-and-out on Utah’s next possession, and the offense rewarded their efforts by using a 50-yard pass to Juwan Johnson to reach the Utah two-yard line. A false start from Hunter Kampmoyer was followed by a failed trick play to left tackle Penei Sewell on third down, but Camden Lewis’ 23-yard field goal put Oregon up 10-0.
Kayvon Thibodeaux nearly added to the score by blocking a punt from Ben Lennnon on Utah’s next possession; the blocked kick tumbled toward the boundary where Thibodeaux would’ve had open field between himself and the end zone, but the defensive standout was unable to wrangle in the ball before it bounced out of bounds.
The Ducks weren’t able to capitalize off of the blocked punt, and on the next possession Zack Moss boosted up his team’s morale with a 42-yard run thanks to a solid block by Tyler Huntley. However, the momentum was killed when Huntley threw a bomb to the end zone that was easily picked off by Breeze, the Duck that was battered by the quarterback the play before.
Oregon wasn’t able to take full advantage of the interception and was forced to punt after a false start called on Calvin Throckmorton proved too much to overcome. Thankfully, the Utah run game continued to get shut down by the stout Duck D, resulting in another three-and-out from the PAC-12 South Division champions. Three plays later Herbert found a wide-open Johnny Johnson III for a 45-yard touchdown to give the Ducks a three-score lead.
The now desperate Utah offense attempted to convert on fourth-and-2 at the Oregon 31-yard line, but Avalos’ squad brought down Huntley before he picked up a yard. A big pass to Johnson III got the Ducks back in the red zone, however, another false start from senior tackle Calvin Throckmorton resulted in a field goal attempt from freshman Camden Lewis, which the shaky kicker nailed from 30 yards out to give Oregon a 20 to 0 lead which they would take to the half.
Utah was down, but most definitely not out. Whatever halftime speech Coach Whittingham gave his team seemed to do the trick in the third quarter as the Utes started the second half with a Duck three-and-out followed by a 6-play, 53-yard drive that ended with a 24-yard touchdown from Moss. The comeback bid then gained steam when a wild snap (a puzzling all-too-familiar staple of the Oregon offense) flew over the head of Herbert who recovered the ball at the Duck one-yard line and survived the pursuing onslaught of Utah defenders.
The bad snap led to an Oregon punt from deep in their own territory, but d-lineman Popo Aumavae set the tone for the next possession when he sacked Huntley for a three-yard loss on first down. A 10-yard gain from Moss set up another fourth-and-short, and once again the Ducks rose to the occasion by stopping the Utah offense dead in its tracks thanks to Thomas Graham Jr who broke up a pass intended for Demari Simpkins. On the next play, CJ Verdell carried the ball from midfield to the Utah 26, and though the drive stalled out at the seven-yard line, Camden Lewis showed growth by connecting on his third consecutive field goal.
To Utah’s credit, they responded well to the adversity by marching 75 yards for their second touchdown of the evening. Huntley connected with receiver Samson Nacua on third-and-10 for a 25-yard touchdown, then hit him again for the two-point conversion to cut the lead to eight with 1:13 left in the third.
The championship game slowed down at the top of the final quarter as both teams struggled to sustain their drives, but at the 7:09 mark Verdell cracked the game open with a 70-yard touchdown run. Down by 15 points, Utah’s next possession was spoiled by a Thibodeaux sack for an eight-yard loss on first down. Oregon was able to take nearly two-and-a-half minutes off the clock and burn through all three of Utah’s timeouts before punting the ball back to them with 3:29 left in the game.
Utah’s next drive was cut short after just two plays when the club-handed Troy Dye picked off a pass at the Utah 20. Oregon responded with a two-play drive of their own, consisting of a four-yard rush from Herbert then a 31-yard touchdown run from Verdell. The junior running back tallied 208 yards and three touchdowns against one of the best run defenses of the 2019 college football season.
The Duck defense stopped Utah’s final drive with a fourth-down sack from seniors Troy Dye and La’Mar Winston Jr, meaning the Utes failed all four of their fourth-down attempts. Justin Herbert ran out the clock and Duck fans across the country celebrated another PAC-12 championship and a future trip to the Rose Bowl.
"We came a long way… It's emotional, because who would have thought? With a 4-8 year one, no one would have thought”
- Senior Offensive Lineman Shane Lemieux
Oregon Offense (total: 432 - pass: 193 - rush: 239)
Utah Offense (total: 309 - pass: 193 - rush: 116)
Oregon Defense (forced turnovers: 2 - INT: 2)
Utah Defense (forced turnovers: 0)
UO (11-2, 8-1) UU (11-2, 8-1)