Both Oregon and Utah entered Saturday’s game with reasons to win. Oregon was coming off a tough 26-20 loss to No. 4 Stanford, one that likley costs them a chance at a BCS national championship spot. Utah came to Autzen Stadium after beating the same Cardinal team 27-21, then going on to lose three straight conference games. Oregon had a bit more bitterness in the game helping the team surpass Utah with a 44-21 victory.
The Ducks started towards their win with a halftime 17-7 lead.
Utah opened up the second half receiving and Utah quarterback Adam Schulz threw a pass to Dominique Hatfield for 48 yards to the Oregon four yard-line. Schulz then ran in the remaining yards for a touchdown bringing the score to 17-14.
The Ducks were in desperate need of a score to keep the lead with the Utes right on their tail. Running back De’Anthony Thomas easily answered Utah’s score as he returned a 51-yard kickoff return from Andy Phillips for 86 yards to the end zone.
Thomas proved that his ankle injury was no longer an issue, as he has had on-and-off playing time since he injured it against California.
Utah continued to make small gains using mostly their rushing back Bubba Poole, but the Oregon defense played out the stops as it did in the first half. After linebacker Derrick Malone’s shoulder injury sat him out for the end of the second quarter, other defensive players stepped up in his place. Safety Avery Patterson had six tackles and linebackers Boseko Lokombo and Malone each had five.
Rahim Cassell took the linebacker position in place of Malone in the second half and put on the defensive performance he was expected to.
“Whenever you lose a starter, obviously the guy starts for a reason, but Rahim has played a lot of football for us, and I thought Rahim came in a did very well,” defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti said. “I might add that (Utah) had 42 rushes for 116 yards — that’s less than three yards a carry. So Rahim obviously did a really good job against the rush.”
With just under six minutes left in the third quarter, the Ducks quickly scored again. Marcus Mariota threw to Josh Huff for 21 yards, then to Daryle Hawkins for 23 yards and finally 14 yards to tight end John Mundt for another touchdown.
“I always trust my eyes, and I trust what I see,” Mariota said, “but it’s not just me, it’s a collaborative effort. Guys are finding holes, getting open. Depending on the look, depending on what we practice every week, I’m able to find them.”
Mariota continued his streak of zero interceptions against the Utes. He went 19-of-26 in the game for 288 yards and three touchdowns.
Terrance Mitchell almost had his second interception of the game with just less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter. His first came off a tipped pass by Troy Hill from Schulz. Instead of a second interception, Utah decided to return the ball.
The kick led to a quick pass to Hawkins for 26 yards from Mariota. Mariota then handed off to running back Byron Marshall who ran in the ball 21 yards for the touchdown.
After Utah’s chance at entering the end zone, Oregon scored on another kickoff return as Addison ran in the touchdown. However, an illegal block in the back was called on the receiving team, so Oregon was forced to return to the 39 yard-line to try again. Addison ranks third in the country in punt returns, averaging 19.7 yards on his 13 total returns.
Thomas Tyner rushed for 27 yards the next play, though, putting the Ducks in Utah territory. The touchdown Oregon was looking for came a couple of plays later when Marshall ran the ball in from 16 yards bringing the score to 44-14.
“We really tried to pick up the tempo in the second half,” Marshall said.
Utah ran in the end zone one last time with a rush from Poole to add to the scoreboard one final time. The game ended at 44-21.
The win over Utah does not heal the wounds that Stanford left on the Ducks, but it does put the team in a better spot for a BCS bowl bid, as long as Oregon wins its final regular season matchups against Arizona and in the Civil War against Oregon State.
“It’s just feels good to get that sour taste that all of us have had in our mouths for eight or nine days and to get a win,” Aliotti said. “So we’re happy about that, to be 9-1. And now, we can start focusing on Arizona tomorrow morning.”
Follow Lindsey Tucker on Twitter @lindseyetucker