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SALT LAKE CITY — One year later, not much has changed for the Utah football program. The Oregon Ducks were an obstacle then and again are in the way now.
Last year, as the red-clad locals can gleefully recall, Utah demolished Oregon in the penultimate game of the regular season and then followed with the customary beating of Colorado on the way to earning a spot in the Pac-12 championship game, where it again whipped the Ducks to land the Rose Bowl berth. A similar scenario presents itself again this Saturday for the Utes and the Ducks, with the winner likely advancing to the title game in Las Vegas.
Each team is 6-1 in the conference with two games remaining, and both need to win out to ensure the opportunity to represent the Pac-12 in the Rose Bowl. With the elimination of the two divisions, this year the top two teams play for the conference championship on Dec. 2.
Once again, as it has been every year since 2018, aside from the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Utah has an excellent chance to qualify for the title game. Sweeping the final two games — Utah closes the regular season against hapless Colorado — would mean a fourth consecutive appearance in the championship game, excluding the pointless COVID year.
Taking it a step further, the Utes have entered November in contention in six of the last eight seasons. A second consecutive Rose Bowl appearance will establish Utah as the conference's most dominant program.
"We've been in the hunt for a lot of years deep into the season," said coach Kyle Whittingham, who rightfully so doesn't want to count the five-game slate in 2020.
As the program's winningest coach, Whittingham is quick to credit his assistants and the players for the impressive run of consistency. While the programs in the conference have floundered at times and run through a host of coaching changes, Utah keeps marching along despite rarely ranking among the leaders in recruiting.
Since Utah began Pac-12 play in 2011, Stanford's David Shaw and Whittingham are the only two head coaches remaining on the job. Considering the Cardinal have gone a combined 10-24 over the last three full seasons, Whittingham might be the last-man standing.
"It speaks to the talent and just the competitiveness of our players," he said. "You go back and why do we have those type of players — because our assistant coaches do such a great job of bringing in the right type of player into this program."
Much like last year, Utah basically has played in must-win games since losing to UCLA on Oct. 8. The Utes lost to Oregon State in October last year and then won their final six conference games.
For a multitude of reasons, the Utes roll into Eugene riding a four-game winning streak and unquestionably are jelling at the right time. Topping the list, several players battling through injuries in recent weeks are expected to be close to full strength for this game.
Running back Tavion Thomas, who has been held out of parts of some or all games for undisclosed reasons, celebrated his return to full participation by rushing for a career high 180 yards in the win over Stanford week. Thomas said after Monday's practice he has met with Dr. Jonathan Ravarino, the athletic department's director of Psychology and Wellness.
The most important factor for Utah's surge is the substantial improvement on defense since the second half of the Oct. 15 win over USC. Oregon leads the Pac-12 in total offense, with an average of 527 yards per game and is tied with USC at 42 points per game.
"We've had our backs to the wall ever since UCLA and every single game has been a pressure game," Whittingham said. "That's what you want to play in. If you're not playing in pressure games that means you're irrelevant."
