Oregon’s Playoff Dreams Die in Salt Lake City, Utes 38 – Ducks 7

Anthony Brown: 17/35 – 231 YDS – 1 TD – 9 Auto – 8 YDS

Cameron stands: 10/18 – 178 YDS – 5 Auto – 8 YDS – 1 RTD

TD scorer: (UO) Anthony Brown, Devon Williams (UU) Tavion Thomas {3}, Cameron Rising, Great Britain Covey,

DUCK FARMS: 294 yards – 231 passing – 63 rushing

UTE YARDS: 386 yards – 178 passing – 208 rushing

REVENUE FORCED: Ducks: 0 – Uten: 0

Photo by Chris Gardner / Getty Images

• The Utes started with the ball and earned a good field position with a 34 yard kick return from receiver Britain Covey.
• Running back Tavion Thomas, who was back from injury, picked up 5 yards on the first down.
• In 3rd and 5th place, Cameron Rising linked up with Covey for a 17 yard win. A false start on the next move made the next set of downs essentially a failure, as the Utes couldn’t win any more yards on the drive and were forced to punt.
• The Ducks started their first drive of the competition on the Oregon 16-yard line.
• Similar to the previous trip in Utah, Oregon suffered a false start that turned out to be too much. A 1-yard run from running back Travis Dye started the drive for the Ducks, but the penalty on the second down continued on second and 14th quarterback Anthony Brown Jr. picked up 6 yards with his legs on the third and long stretch. The ride ended in a three-and-off.
• Utah’s next drive consisted of 11 running games that won a total of 63 yards and two incomplete passes. On the ride, Rising ran for gains of 8 and 7 yards, receiver Jaylen Dixon picked up 16 yards to reach the Oregon red zone, and Thomas pounded 3rd and 9th on the 10-yard score.

Utes 7 – ducks 0

(13 games, 63 yards, 6:22)

• The next duck drive began at Oregon 35. The first game of possession was a 9-yard pass to receiver Devon Williams. Brown then took Oregon’s first first down of the game with a 9-yard keeper.
• Dye won 6 yards on the first down, then Brown won another set of downs with a 5-yard run.
• Cornerback Clark Phillips had to hold while defending Williams in the end zone, which resulted in the Ducks being placed at the Utah 21-yard line.
• A reverse with receiver Kris Hutson lost 9 yards on first down, and a 12-yard gain from Dye on third and 19 resulted in Cristobal opting for the 36-yard field goal attempt. An attempt that was blocked by Cole Bishop of Utah.
• The last two plays of the first quarter were both carry from Thomas, who hit 8 yards and went third-and-2 into second.

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• Thomas quickly earned the first down with a 4 yard win on the first down to start the second quarter.
• Consecutive Utah running games scored 5 yards, but on the third and fifth games at Utah 37 linebacker, Noah Sewell dismissed Rising for a 12-yard loss that resulted in Utah poking at the next game.
• The Ducks started on their own 39-yard line and began the drive with a 13-yard run by Byron Cardwell.
• After a brief run from Cardwell, Brown matched Williams for an 8-yard gain on second and 7th.
• Unfortunately for Oregon, the drive ended on the next downs, in part because Brown tripped on his own two feet and lost 12 yards (although Mika Tafua was officially kicked out due to his pressure).
• Successive receptions from Brant Kuithe of 21 and 28 yards quickly got the Utes to the Oregon 27.
• Kayvon Thibodeaux was called on an offside penalty that set up a third and fifth for the Utes. Thomas saved 8 yards to earn first down.
• After a 9-yard pass to Covey, the Utes brought the duck 1-yard line, Rising recorded the score himself.

Utes 14 – ducks 0

(9 games, 80 yards, 4:19)

• The Ducks opened their next trip with a 50-yard pass to Hutson on the First Down to reach Utah 25.
• Runs by Dye and Brown earned first downs, but Duck Drive was again punished for failure. This time an offensive clinging to George Moore.
• The Ducks went for another field goal, this time from 41 yards, and Lewis missed to the right.
• The Utes started on their own 23-yard line with 2:02 minutes remaining before half-time.
• Utah won 6 yards first down with a run by TJ Pledger. then Rising allied with Kuithe on a 49-yard pass to Oregon 22.
• Pledger reinforced his momentum with a 17-yard run on the Oregon 5. Two runs later by Thomas, the Utes were back in the end zone. Veteran defensive back Verone McKinley was injured in the game and did not return to the field for the Ducks.

Utes 21 – ducks 0

(8 games, 77 yards, 1:35)

• With less than 27 seconds remaining, Oregon opted to throw the ball twice on the first two downs, resulting in two incompleteness.
• Dye took 7 of the necessary 10 yards on the third and long stretch, and so the Ducks were forced to poke … which brought Covey 78 yards to the house to bring the Utes to 28-0.

Utes 28 – ducks 0

(1 games, 78 yards, 0:11)

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• The Ducks started on their own 25-yard line, and on the first game of the drive, Brown met Dont’e Thornton for an 8-yard gain. On the next move, Dye took a first down with a 3-yard run.
• Brown was fired by Junior Tafuna for a 7 yard loss on the next down, but two games later Hutson made the unlikely conversion by winning exactly 17 yards on third and 17.
• Brown again matched Thornton with a win of 8 on third and 11. Two games later, Dye took first down to four-and-2 with a 6-yard run. A holding penalty imposed on Utah also gave the Ducks 10 additional yards.
• On the next move, the Ducks scored their first touchdown of the competition: a 36-yard pass to Williams in the end zone.

Utes 28 – ducks 7

(9 games, 75 yards, 4:58)

• Utah started the next drive with back-to-back-run games that hit 18 yards.
• Then Rising allied with Kuithe on a 15-yard pass.
• Three consecutive run-plays by Pledger earned Utah another first down.
• A pass disorder of the Ducks brought the Utes to the Oregon 15. Five games later, Thomas went into the end zone.

Utes 35 – ducks 7

(11 games, 75 yards, 6:06)

• Brown linked up with tight end Moliki Matavao for a 7 yard win on the first play of the drive, then ran two plays later on the third and short play for a first down.
• Brown then went to Hutson for a 20 yard gain at Utah 41.
• After successive incompleteness, Brown moved to Williams with a win of 10 on third and 10th.
• On the next move, Brown was sacked for a loss of 3.
• The final game of the quarter was a three-yard pass to the tight end of Spencer Webb to finish third and tenth in the Utah 31.

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• Brown threw an incompleteness on the third and 10. And couldn’t find his target in fourth and 15 either, which resulted in a turnover on downs.
• Utah put together a 12-play, 56-yard drive that met little resistance from Oregon. Rising fumbled the ball, which was almost brought back by the Ducks but was instead picked up by Kuithe. The drive ended with a 26-yard field goal.

Utes 38 – ducks 7

(12 games, 56 yards, 7:19)

• Oregon dropped a handful of big plays on its next drive (Cardwell 10-yard run, 18-yard pass to Williams, 22-yard pass to Spencer Curtis), but in the end the drive died on Downs when Brown had two incompleteness towards the threw end zone third and fourth from the red zone in Utah.
• Utah graciously killed the clock.

Photo by Chris Gardner / Getty Images

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