Pac-12 Championship Game Predictions: No. 10 Oregon Ducks vs. No. 17 Utah Utes

Who does our staff think will win Friday night’s game between the Ducks and Utes?

Author:
Andrew Lind
Dec 3, 2021 4:00 PM EST

Oregon and Utah meet just 13 days after the Utes knocked the Ducks from College Football Playoff contention with a blowout victory in Salt Lake City. There’s still a lot on the line this time around, too, as the winner will head to Pasadena.

Utah has never played in the Rose Bowl, having lost its three previous trips to the Pac-12 title game. That includes a loss to Oregon in 2019, when the Ducks won the first of what they hope is three straight conference championships.

Here’s how our staff at BuckeyesNow expects the game to go down:

OREGON vs. UTAH – Friday, 8 p.m. on ABC
Spread: Utah (-2.5)
O/U Total: 57.5

Brendan Gulick: Utah 31, Oregon 20

Just two weeks after Utah knocked Oregon out of College Football Playoff contention, these two teams meet again for a conference championship.

Frankly, not much has changed in the last two weeks. I think this game pretty much comes down to who executes better because schematically, it’s hard to change your DNA just short time span. I think this game may be a little bit closer than the pretty convincing win the Utes had the last time, but I expect Utah to be heading to Pasadena on New Year’s Day.

It should be quite a celebration for them, considering they’ve never won the Pac-12 title and have never played in the Rose Bowl. I’m expecting a big game from Tavion Thomas.

Andrew Lind: Utah 30, Oregon 17

Aside from the venue, not much has changed in two weeks for Oregon and Utah. The Utes dominated in ever facet in their last meeting, and I expect a similar outcome this time around so long as Utah keeps the ball on the ground with Thomas.

The Ducks will have to get their own ground game going and force an uncharacteristic turnover from Utes quarterback Cameron Rising in order to pull the upset. I just don’t see either happening.

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