Utah rolls over Oregon again, wins 1st Pac-12 title
Salt Lake City or Las Vegas, late November or early December, it doesn’t make a difference.
Utah and a pro-Utes crowd showed up at Allegiant Stadium on Friday night, and there was little doubt from beginning to end which was the superior team.
Just like what the 14th-ranked Utes did nearly two weeks ago at home, they dominated No. 10 Oregon. Their 38-10 victory allowed them to claim the school’s first Pac-12 title and earn a trip to the Rose Bowl.
“It’s a history-making team at Utah,” Utes coach Kyle Whittingham said. “If you had told me after three games (a 1-2 start) that we would be here right now, I would’ve said, ‘You’re crazy.’”
Utah fans drove the announced attendance of 56,511, the second-largest crowd for a neutral-site Pac-12 Championship game. The record was set in 2015 when 58,476 fans watched Southern California-Stanford in Santa Clara, California.
The title game will be back at Allegiant next year, and another large crowd could keep the game here on a long-tern basis. Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff noted he was on the other side of the negotiating table with MGM Resorts when he helped bring the game to Las Vegas.
“I think Vegas is an incredible place for championships and not just in football and basketball,” Kliavkoff said.
Two-time defending conference champion Oregon (10-3) likely heads to the Alamo Bowl after losing for the first time in five trips to the title game. Just two weeks ago, the Ducks were in serious contention for a College Football Playoff spot, but then Utah (10-3) routed them 38-7.
Utah led 28-0 at halftime of that game and 23-0 midway through this one. In the rematch, Utah held the Ducks to 65 yards at halftime and 221 for the game.
“Our defense was suffocating,” Whittingham said.
Oregon coach Mario Cristobal was peppered with questions about whether he would remain in Eugene or take over at Miami. He is a Miami native and played on two Hurricanes national championship teams.
“I haven’t talked to anybody, so let’s not create narratives as we sit here in this press conference,” Cristobal said. “Oregon is working on some stuff for me, and that’s what I have right now, and that’s the extent of the conversations.”
As for the game, Utes tight end Dalton Kincaid, who went to Faith Lutheran, caught four passes for 61 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown with 27 seconds left in the first half that put Utah ahead 20-0.
It was all Utes from the opening drive, when they converted a fourth-and-1 at their 48-yard line to set up a short touchdown run by Tavion Thomas for a 7-0 lead. Then Devin Lloyd stepped in front and intercepted a pass on an Oregon crossing route for an easy 34-yard TD.
Suddenly, it was 14-0, and the tone was set.
This victory punctuated an emotional season for the Utes, mourning the losses of players Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe in the past year. A video tribute to both players was played in the first half. Fans throughout the stadium stood with flashlights turned on their cellphones.
“It’s as satisfying as it gets to know that we did honor them the right way,” Lloyd said. “Up to this point, we did everything we can for them.”
Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.
