No. 17 Utah hands No. 13 Oregon historic loss
EUGENE, Ore. — Breaking down No. 17 Utah's 62-20 win at No. 13 Oregon on Saturday:
THE BIG PICTURE: The BBC was pondering a relaunch of Doctor Who and Green Day had just released American Idiot the last time Oregon lost two football games in September. The year was 2004, and Oregon started 0-2 and finished 5-6. Oregon is not winless this September, but it is winless vs. Power Five opposition.
Oregon's 14-point halftime deficit was its biggest since trailing by 19 at Arizona on November, 23, 2013. Its 42-point loss was its worst since falling 59-14 at Arizona State on Oct. 11, 2003. Oregon had not allowed 62 points in a game since Nebraska beat the Ducks 63-0 on Sept. 28, 1985.
When quarterback Jeff Lockie threw an interception in the Utah end zone with 10 minutes left in the third quarter, Oregon fans began heading to the exits. That has not happened here in years, either.
WHAT WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT: Aside from the fact that Oregon (2-2, 0-1 Pac-12) is out of the Bowl Championship Series/College Football Playoff/New Year's Six picture for only the second time in seven years, we'll be talking about the Ducks' quarterbacks and cornerbacks.
First, the former. Has Oregon joined the ranks of FBS teams that are undecided on their starting quarterback? The Ducks' coaches pulled starter Vernon Adams in favor of veteran backup Lockie with 6:15 to play in the second quarter. With the Oregon student section chanting his name the way movie audiences did Rocky's name in the 1970s and 80s, Lockie completed his first pass for 26 yards. He rushed 20 yards down to the Utah 1 on the drive's sixth play and threw a touchdown in the left flat to Bralon Addison to cap the drive. The touchdown cut Utah's lead to 20-13, but Oregon did not score again until 3:58 remained in the game. Utah had scored 42 consecutive points by then.
After the game, Oregon coach Mark Helfrich explained his move away from Adams by saying, "It was more or less there were some things there in those first few drives. You know, you never know what's going through a guy's mind in those situations, but there were some things there that are plays that he would normally make, and you have to kind of get in their head of why and what and if he's thinking about something else or whatever it is. And you gotta give Utah credit, but it was moreso just things that, plays that we thought could/should be made."
Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost explained the move by saying Adams' injured right index finger is still not 100% healed.
Lockie averaged 6.9 yards per pass and 3.7 per run compared to Adams' 3.7 and 0.8. And though Lockie threw two interceptions, he did move he offense considerably better than Adams. It will bear watching what Oregon does with the position from here. Lockie has a year left to play after this season, Adams does not. And Lockie appears to be the healthier player.
Now, the cornerbacks. Oregon entered the game ranked 105th in the FBS in total defense and 117th in passing yards allowed. Those numbers won't get better after Saturday night.
The Ducks swapped starters at cornerback for this game, going with freshmen Ugo Amadi and Glen Ihenacho instead of sophomores Chris Seisay and Arrion Springs, but that provided no solutions for Oregon's defensive woes. Wilson found receivers open all night, and it didn't matter who was on the field for the Ducks.
Britain Covey went right by Springs for 26 yards for Utah's first touchdown of the game. Freshman Caleb Repp pirouetted over Ihenico for a TD in the right corner with a minute left in the first half. When Oregon dipped deeper into the depth chart, Repp beat sophomore Ty Griffin for a touchdown that gave Utah (4-0, 1-0) a 48-13 lead with 3:22 left in the third quarter.
The front seven of Oregon's defense gave their secondary no help, as the mobile Wilson rarely had to resort to moving the pocket. Now the Ducks will search for another solution to their pass defense woes, because this week's did not work.
Oh, and prospective two-way player Charles Nelson might not provide relief, either, because of this:
DECIDING PLAY: Wilson had a 2-yard quarterback keeper to the left side early in the third quarter to make it 34-13. That play gave Wilson 100 rushing yards and 185 passing yards for the game. He finished with 327 yards of offense, four touchdowns passing and the one rushing.
KEY INJURY: Byron Marshall suffered what appeared to be a sprain of the right ankle on a kickoff return with 13:14 to play in the third quarter. Marshall had arguably been Oregon's best player in the game to that point, returning six kicks for 162 yards in the first half, including a 77-yarder that set up the Ducks' first touchdown.
KEY NUMBER: 3*. That's the number of quarterbacks Utah used in the game, always by choice, and never because of injury. Wilson gave way to Kendal Thompson with the Utes up 55-13 in the third quarter, and Thompson gave way to Chase Hansen with the Utes up 62-13 in the fourth quarter. None threw an interception, none fumbled, and perhaps worst for Oregon, none was sacked.
* The QB count actually could be four if tailback DeVontae Booker is factored in. He threw one pass in the game, a beautiful 25-yard corner route to Covey for a touchdown that gave Utah a 41-13 lead.
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