Two teams aiming to make it to the Pac-12 Championship Game will collide Saturday when No. 8 Oregon travels to take on No. 13 Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday. Both teams enter the game with confidence coming off victories in Week 8 with Oregon bouncing back in a 38-24 win against Washington State while Utah notched its third consecutive win against Lincoln Riley, Caleb Williams and USC in a 34-32 thriller.
For much of the league’s recent history, Oregon and Utah have represented the class of the conference. The Ducks and Utes combined for 12 division titles from 2011-21, and the Utes have claimed each of the last two conference championships. This year, as Utah goes for a three-peat and Oregon looks to win its first conference title since, 2010, their head-to-head showdown takes on even more importance as each team already has one conference loss. Utah lost at Oregon State last month and Oregon lost at Washington two weeks ago.
Oregon leads the series history 24-12, including a hard-fought 20-17 win against the Utes in Eugene last year. And while the Ducks even leads the series when the game is played in Salt Lake City (10-6), they are just 2-2 since Kyle Whittingham took over as Utah’s coach. This is also the fifth straight meeting that both teams are in the AP Top 25 and the fourth in that span that both teams are in the top 15.
Oregon vs. Utah: Need to know
One of college football’s best home-field advantages: Utah is 116-36 in Rice-Eccles Stadium since 1998 and 88-25 at home since Whittingham took over, logging undefeated home seasons in 2008, 2009, 2019, 2021 and 2022. In total, this is a program that’s riding a streak of 29 wins in the last 30 home games, and the advantage works in multiple ways that complement each other: The…
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