There are still two more regular-season games before conference championship weekend, but we could be getting a preview of early December in the Pac-12. The league’s two division leaders will clash in Utah, with each hoping to take a big step to wrap up the crown when Oregon faces the Utes.
The NCAAF odds are available at the top-rated sportsbooks. Here is my betting advice so that you can make the right college football pick! Read on.
Oregon Ducks vs. Utah Utes
Saturday, November 20, 2021 – 07:30 PM EST at Rice-Eccles Stadium
There are still two more regular-season games to go before we have conference championship weekend, but we could be getting a sneak preview of that early December showdown in the Pac-12. The league’s two-division leader will clash in Utah, when Oregon, two games up in the North Division, faces Utah, a game in front in the South. Both teams will be looking to take a step toward wrapping up their crown with a win.
Oregon has a magic number of one, meaning that a win or an Oregon State loss wraps up the North title for the Ducks. Of course, at No. 4 in the country, Oregon has much higher goals than reaching the Pac-12 title game. The Ducks will be looking to post a resounding win over a Pac-12 contender to continue making their case to the College Football Playoff selection committee.
Utah wraps up the South title with a win or a loss by Arizona State.
Slight Scare
Oregon fell behind early against Washington State and found itself tied at the half, but the Ducks had a strong second half, outscoring the Cougars 24-10 after halftime to earn a 14-point win. Once again, quarterback Anthony Brown showed his—and the Oregon offense’s—versatility. While he has shown this season that he can throw it downfield with the best of them, he relied on the Oregon ground game to get past Wazzu. Brown threw for just 135 yards in the game, but he added 123 on the ground, including a rushing touchdown.
Running back Travis Dye had a receiving and a rushing score, and Byron Cardwell added 98 rushing yards and two scores as the Ducks controlled the game on the ground. “What they were doing (on defense), it called for him to use his legs tonight," coach Mario Cristobal said. "And he did it. … We take a lot of pride as coaches in making adjustments and looking for areas to attack.”
The Ducks should get back Jackson LaDuke this week. Cristobal said he was “really close” before last week’s game, adding, “He’s maybe a week out.” The team already got back defensive lineman Keyon Ware-Hudson, who missed the previous week.
Winning Ugly
It wasn’t as impressive as their previous wins, but Utah got an ugly win over Arizona on Saturday to win for the third straight game and sixth time in the last seven. After winning the previous two by a combined 96-31 score, the Utes struggled with an Arizona team that had lost 20 straight games before winning the previous week.
Utah had a punt blocked and turned in a sloppy effort against an overmatched Wildcats team before pulling away. “That’s what you call winning ugly,” coach Kyle Whittingham said. “You’ve got to do that once a while. Good teams will win the ugly ones. It’s good to see our guys hang in there and finish the game when it needed to be finished.”
The Utes will need a better effort and crisper execution to stay with one of the nation’s top teams this week. Part of the reason Utah’s offense struggled is that running back Tavion Thomas was held out of the game as a precautionary measure. He should be back for the Oregon game. Backup TJ Pledger rushed for 119 yards filling in for him.
The Utes suffered injuries on both sides of the ball. Cornerback Faybian Marks and center Paul Maile both were on the sideline on crutches, and guard-center Nick Ford left the game with a late injury as well.
The Pick
Oregon is an underdog on the road, which is a bit of a surprise given the Ducks’ lofty ranking. For your NCAAF pick, look for Oregon to keep its CFP push alive with a win over a good but injury-plagued Utes team.
NCAAF Pick: Oregon +3 (-115) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
