Oregon Opens as Betting Underdog vs. Utah Ahead of Pac-12 Championship

What bet should you make for the 2021 Pac-12 Championship in Las Vegas?

Author:
Nick Battey
Publish date:
Nov 29, 2021 12:33 PM EST

The Oregon Ducks and Utah Utes are set for a huge rematch in the 2021 Pac-12 championship game.

No. 14 Utah Utes (9-3, 8-1) vs No. 10 Oregon Ducks (10-2, 7-2)

Friday, December 3- 5:00 PM PST - ABC

Sports Illustrated Sportsbook Odds:

Spread: UTAH -2.5 (-125) | ORE +2.5 (-105)

Moneyline: UTAH (-150) | ORE (+115)

Total: 59.5 - Over: (-118) | Under: (-110)

In a rematch of a game the Utes dominated in every way just two weeks ago, Oregon will need to find a way to crack the code in all three phases of the game. The last time these teams met, Utah rolled over the Ducks in offense, defense, and special teams.

Most of the special teams’ miscues seem very fixable for Oregon. Even on offense, Oregon should be able to prioritize running the football more than two weeks ago assuming the defense is able to hold Utah in check. But the defense is the most worrisome, as the third-down defense has been poor all year and the run defense will be tested again after failing two weeks ago.

From Oregon’s perspective, they are out for revenge on the team that ruined their playoff hopes and seem ready to come out with a vengeance. The team remains hopeful that cornerback Mykael Wright and linebacker Noah Sewell will be able to go against the Utes after leaving the game last week vs. Oregon State.

But Utah is also extremely confident coming in. And they should be. The Utes just manhandled the Ducks two weeks ago and there isn’t any reason they shouldn’t be able to do the same thing. All the same players will be on the field.

I could definitely see Oregon winning this game outright, after all they are the more talented football team and have shown they usually rise to the occasion in games like this one. But I just can’t get that game nine days ago out of my head.

Utah was clearly the better team on the field in that one and for it to switch that quickly in two weeks seems like a stretch to me. This will be much closer than that game in Salt Lake City, but I think Utah beats Oregon a second time and goes to Pasadena for the first time ever.