Takeaways From Oregon's 38-7 Loss to Utah

The Ducks played one of their worst football games in recent history as they were dominated in all four quarters in their 38-7 loss to No. 23 Utah.

Author:
John Rustik
Publish date:
Nov 21, 2021 1:51 PM EST

There’s a lot of things that went wrong, but here’s what you can take away from this game.

1. Lack of consistency

For the third time this conference season, the Ducks trailed at halftime. This time, the Ducks would not come anywhere near the Utes after being dominated thoroughly en route to a 28-0 deficit at the half.

Playing poorly in the first half had been a concern for Oregon all season, and it finally came back to bite them. Even in their loss against Stanford they were able to rally back in the second half. As soon as they got sloppy in the first half against a decent team, Utah steamrolled them. Moving forward, the Ducks have to start treating the first half just as importantly as they treat the second half.

2. Oregon got bullied

Oregon has built the reputation of a team that likes to win in the trenches. Saturday, they didn't even come close to doing so. The team that had been so dominant all season was bullied by the Utes nonstop for four quarters.

Oregon had been a top running team in the conference, and Utah’s front seven held the Ducks to a total of just 63 yards on the ground the entire game. The Utes ran all over the Ducks for 208 yards on the ground and added four rushing touchdowns.

The Utah offensive line also did a fantastic job of neutralizing Kayvon Thibodeaux, as the pass rush was almost non-existent with the exception of one sack. The star defensive end didn’t have a single tackle for loss, and he didn't record a single quarterback hurry.

3. Mental errors abound

To add more insult to injury, the Ducks could not stop shooting themselves in the foot with continuous mental lapses. There were the crucial penalties that prevented the Ducks from scoring, such as the holding call when the Ducks were trailing 14-0 in the second quarter. Then the ensuing field goal was blocked after an Oregon player allowed a defender to shoot the inside gap.

The Ducks also missed tackles all night, which allowed the Utes to turn what should have been minimal gains into huge plays. Over time, those errors allowed Utah to build enough momentum to the point that they couldn’t be stopped.

All the defensive errors were shown on the Brant Kuithe reception where he shook off countless amounts of tackle attempts by Oregon.

4. Defense didn't force any turnovers

Oregon’s defense was unable to provide the offense with any sparks or shifts in momentum by forcing turnovers. Entering this game, Utah had fumbled the ball 11 times this season, and the Ducks led the Pac-12 in takeaways.

With Oregon failing to force a single turnover, the Utah offense was never interrupted from their dominant performance and they continued to slice through the Ducks' defense with ease.

5. Hoping for the Rose Bowl?

Even though the sting of this loss won’t go anywhere anytime soon, the Ducks still have tons to play for. While they won’t make the College Football Playoff, they can still make one of the New Year’s Six bowls.

If they win out, they’ll represent the conference against a respectable Big-Ten team, most likely Michigan, in the Granddaddy of them all.

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