Five Questions With a Utah Writer Ahead of No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 13 Utah

Oregon is favored heading into Saturday's game but they know they'll get a battle from the Utes.

The Ducks and Utes are set to face off this Saturday in college football's game of the week out in Salt Lake City.

Oregon took home a 20-17 win last year in a marquee performance from the defense, and this year's game looks like it should be a good one.

To get a better feel for this Utah team I asked Alex Markham, publisher of UteNation on the Rivals network, five questions.

1. What makes Bryson Barnes special?

Myself and everyone else are still trying to figure that out. Up until the USC game, I called him a serviceable game manager that couldn’t lead the Utes back from more than a 10-point deficit. He showed a lot of growth last week, especially rallying the Utes back in the closing seconds at the LA Memorial Coliseum. The Trojans’ defense is trash though, so I’m interested to see what he can do against Oregon’s defense and the possibility that he’s going to have to get in a scoring shootout.

He’s tough as nails, I’ll give him that. He just needs to trust the game plan and stay within it. If he can beat the Ducks, any early season concerns about him go completely out the wayside.

2. Utah is coming off an emotional win over USC. A lot of times those can be taxing on a team. Can they keep it going against Oregon?

I think the defense can, it’s TBD on the offense. Whittingham usually does a great job of getting his teams ready for the big games. The fact that Utah is 6-1 and ranked No. 13 is unbelievably impressive. Still, they’ve had so many key injuries that it’s easy to wonder at what point all of those injuries catch up to them.

Predicting the Final Score of No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 13 Utah

3. What's something Utah absolutely has to do to beat Oregon?

I mentioned above that I’m skeptical of Utah winning any game if they have to come back from 10+ points down. The offense will absolutely have to put 30+ plus on the board. The Utah defense will hold the Ducks’ offense below their season scoring average; the offense just has to do their part.

There are a lot of areas where it’s going to be strength versus strength between Utah’s defense and Oregon’s offense — specifically Oregon’s rushing attack (No. 6 nationally) versus Utah’s rush defense (No. 5 nationally). Oregon is also elite at converting their third downs (No. 5 nationally), but Utah’s defense ranks No. 2 nationally in preventing conversions.

4. This Utah team is riddled with injuries. With most teams that would spell disaster. How have they gotten to 6-1 this year?

Defense, depth, and coaching. Whittingham and his coaching staff are delivering one of the most impressive coaching jobs anyone could expect in a situation like this.

Everyone around Utah expected this to be one of the greatest defenses Utah has ever had. The season is far from over, but I’m comfortable saying they’re a top three defense in program history. The depth and scheming has been phenomenal.

Offensively, they’re really fortunate that the defense is as good as they are. However, in recent weeks, the running game has become elite despite a rash of injuries throughout the season, including two season-ending ones.

 Ja’Quinden Jackson getting healthy was huge. The experiment of teaming safety Sione Vaki at running back with Jackson could very well save Utah’s season. Vaki has done so well that he’ll primarily play offense for the rest of the season.

5. Sione Vaki's emergence at RB has been one of the biggest storylines. Can you tell us how that came about and why he's been so effective?

It was actually Whittingham’s idea. He usually takes guys and flips them to the other side of the ball. After the UCLA game it was apparent that Utah’s offense was lifeless. Honestly, it was awful due to all of the injuries. Had they used him more than his one carry (for six yards) against Oregon State, they would have stood a better chance at winning that game and being 7-0.

Vaki was the Bay Valley Athletic League MVP as a senior in 2018. That year he was one of the top receivers in California, but the majority of schools recruited him as a safety.

So far it’s been a brilliant decision. He’s so dynamic that he’s a threat to score any time he touches the ball. 

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