Good Luck Ducks, Week 12: Revenge?

 

Oregon looks to regroup against Utah with a new potential quarterback late in the season. 

 

Things changed a lot during last week's game. The Ducks went from fringe playoff contenders to Rose Bowl hopefuls. Bo Nix went from fringe Heisman candidate to injured onlooker. All Oregon has to do now to maximize their season is win out and hope for New Year's Six glory.

Enter the Utah Utes, who dominated the Ducks twice late last season, dashing their hopes in an unfortunate weird echo of the way this season is starting to play out. Utah can again keep the Ducks out of the conference title hunt (as can Oregon State next week.) We knew it was going to be a tough task, but after flopping against Washington and possibly losing their starting quarterback for someone who has looked dreadful on the field in very limited action, things are looking even tougher now. The Utes are once again led by Cam Rising and their only conference loss was on the road at UCLA. Oregon's suspect pass defense was exploited last week once again, and it will be a big thing to watch tonight.

Notes and other things: 

• The QB that might be making the start is former 5 star recruit Ty Thompson. The Backup Quarterback Fan Club that seems to exist in nearly every fanbase wanted desperately to see Thompson get a look last season whenever Anthony Brown would get predictable, but Thompson has yet to show anything promising on the field, though he's also yet to play more than a few meaningful downs. If he is indeed the dude tonight, it'll be interesting to see what he can do with a full gameplan.
• It's Senior Day at Autzen, and the comfort of the home crowd should help. After last week, though, hopefully the energy will still be there.
• With conference expansion again on the discussion table, it was interesting to look back at the two school added a decade ago. At the time, it was thought that adding Colorado from the Big 12 was the more exciting move, while Utah coming over from the Mountain West seemed to be less intriguing. As things currently stand, Utah is in the upper crust of the conference while Colorado can't hang with anyone.
• Aside from the obvious, I'm not totally sure what I'm rooting for here tonight. If Oregon wins, it will make last week's blunders all the more painful. On the other hand, three losses to the same team in less than 365 days is really brutal and cannot stand.

Game time is 7:30 PM PST on ESPN in Eugene. Go Ducks!