Utes' CFP hopes end with Pac-12 loss

Oregon wide receiver Jaylor Redd (front) is pushed out of bounds by Utah defensive back Josh Nurse short of the goal line Friday during the No. 13 Ducks’ 37-15 victory over the No. 5 Utes in the Pac-12 Championship Game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
Oregon wide receiver Jaylor Redd (front) is pushed out of bounds by Utah defensive back Josh Nurse short of the goal line Friday during the No. 13 Ducks’ 37-15 victory over the No. 5 Utes in the Pac-12 Championship Game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- CJ Verdell ran for 208 yards and broke open the game with two long touchdown runs in the fourth quarter as No. 13 Oregon spoiled No. 5 Utah's playoff hopes with a 37-15 victory in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Friday night.

The Utes (11-2) came into the game hoping to make a case for one of the four playoff spots with a conference title but instead got overmatched by Oregon (11-2) and lost their second consecutive Pac-12 Championship Game.

They fell into a 20-0 hole in the first half and then gave up a 70-yard touchdown run to Verdell after cutting the deficit to 23-15, paving the way for the winner of the Big 12 title game between Oklahoma and Baylor to get into the playoff as long as No. 1 LSU beats No. 4 Georgia for the SEC championship.

The Utes got back onto the game with two TD passes by Tyler Huntley in the third quarter. He connected with Zack Moss on a 24-yard play on the opening drive of the half to cut it to 20-7 and then threw a 25-yarder to Samson Nacua late in the third quarter to make it 23-15 following a two-point conversion.

The Utes then drove into Oregon territory before Huntley was sacked by Keyvon Thibodeaux on second down. Utah ended up punting on fourth-and-4 from the Oregon 40 after being stopped on three fourth downs earlier in the game.

Verdell struck with his big run five plays later and added a 31-yard score later in the fourth against the nation's top-ranked run defense to put the game out of reach.

The Ducks sent the tone early when they stuffed Moss for no gain on two short-yardage attempts from the Oregon 33 on the opening drive. Oregon drove down and took the lead for good on Verdell's 3-yard run.

The Utes kept making more mistakes and the Ducks only added to the lead. After forcing a three and out, Oregon got a field goal on the next drive, then blocked a punt after Utah committed a false start on fourth-and-1 before Brady Breeze intercepted a pass in the end zone.

Oregon then struck on a 45-yard strike from Justin Herbert to Johnny Johnson III to make it 17-0, got another fourth down stop and led 20-0 at the break.

Utah 0 0 15 0 -- 15

Oregon 10 10 3 14 -- 37

First Quarter

ORE--Verdell 3 run (C.Lewis kick), 8:00.

ORE--FG C.Lewis 23, 4:17.

Second Quarter

ORE--Johnson III 45 pass from J.Herbert (C.Lewis kick), 11:02.

ORE--FG C.Lewis 30, 4:56.

Third Quarter

UTH--Moss 24 pass from Huntley (Redding kick), 10:52.

ORE--FG C.Lewis 25, 4:56.

UTH--Nacua 25 pass from Huntley (Nacua pass from Huntley), 1:13.

Fourth Quarter

ORE--Verdell 70 run (C.Lewis kick), 7:09.

ORE--Verdell 31 run (C.Lewis kick), 2:33.

Attendance--38,679.

UTH ORE

First downs 18 19

Rushes-yards 35-116 41-239

Passing 193 193

Comp-Att-Int 17-29-2 14-26-0

Return Yards 57 53

Punts-Avg. 5-39.6 6-50.2

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0

Penalties-Yards 8-48 12-95

Time of Possession 30:40 29:20

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Utah, Moss 19-113, Huntley 14-2, Vickers 1-1, Dixon 1-0. Oregon, Verdell 18-208, Habibi-Likio 9-27, J.Herbert 7-20, Tra.Dye 3-13, P.Sewell 1-1, (Team) 3-(minus 30).

PASSING--Utah, Huntley 17-29-2-193. Oregon, J.Herbert 14-26-0-193.

RECEIVING--Utah, Moss 4-57, Nacua 2-39, Br.Kuithe 2-22, Simpkins 2-19, Enis 2-16, Fotheringham 2-16, Dixon 1-20, Vickers 1-3, Brumfield 1-1. Oregon, Johnson III 6-87, Redd 3-35, Juw.Johnson 2-52, Addison 2-14, Kampmoyer 1-5.

Sports on 12/07/2019

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