SALT LAKE CITY-Saturday, Utah football hosts Oregon as the Utes try to stay alive for a Pac-12 South title after suffering a disappointing 38-20 loss to Arizona State, resulting in the loss of starting QB Tyler Huntley for the season.
The Utes are currently tied for first in the Pac-12 South with Arizona and USC at 4-3 and their overall 6-3 record makes them bowl eligible for the 13th time in the Kyle Whittingham era.
With Huntley’s understudy, Jason Shelley, to resume the role for the rest of the regular season, the role of tailback Zack Moss has become more important in the Utes’ offense.
Moss, a junior tailback, has 1,092 rushing yards, making him only the fourth tailback in program history to have multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
The Ducks have been a challenge for Utah traditionally as Oregon leads the all-time series 22-9 in a series dating back to 1933.
Furthermore, in Utah’s Pac-12 era, the Utes are only 1-4 against the Ducks.
Oregon’s star players include quarterback Justin Herbert (173 of 292, 2,333 yards, 22 TD’s/6 INT’s), tailback CJ Verdell (140 car, 690 yards, 5 TD’s), and receiver Dillon Mitchell (56 rec, 833 yards, 6 TD’s).
After the Oregon game, Utah travels to Colorado November 17 and hosts bitter rival BYU November 24.
The Utes will also honor the memory of murdered cross country/track athlete Lauren McCluskey by waving a flag with the winged-foot logo crated in her honor prior to kickoff Saturday
