Huard: Utah Will Win Pac-12 If They Impose Their Will For Four Quarters
Dec 5, 2019, 9:27 PM
(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Leading up to the highly anticipated Pac-12 Championship game, Utah will need to impose their will to win the conference crown against Oregon.
FOX Sports college football analyst Brock Huard told the Crimson Corner podcast that Utah will need to play physical football for 60 minutes to beat the 13th ranked Ducks.
“This is going to be a big boy game,” Huard said. “I think it is going to be a good competitive matchup, I would be surprised if Utah blew the doors off of Oregon, but if they impose their physical will for four quarters, I do believe that they can win by more than a touchdown and make a pretty convincing case to the committee.”
You can listen to the full interview with Brock Huard, here:
Battle In The Trenches
The big matchup that is being talked about the most is Oregon’s offensive line against Utah’s defensive line. Huard believes a lot of hard hits will be made in the trenches.
“I see that playing out with some very massive collisions,” Huard laughed. “I see it playing out with Utah playing a bunch of man to man coverage and there isn’t an Oregon receiver that strikes huge fear. It’s not like they have USC type receivers. I think Utah will want to attack Oregon’s run game and force Justin Herbert beat them in a one dimensional way, which I don’t think Oregon has enough firepower to do so.”
I’ll double down on what I tweeted a few weeks ago about the P12 OPY & 1st Team QB, he resides in Salt Lake City. Two more wins & Huntley’s got a shot of making my Heisman ballot too. As for the two QB’s everyone wants to put in the 1st round, this is concerning pic.twitter.com/WXzpZtFta2
— Brock Huard (@BrockHuard) November 25, 2019
Problems Oregon Could Present To Utah
Huard has called multiple games for FOX featuring Oregon and Utah. He saw a couple of potential problems that the Ducks could take advantage of against the Utes.
“First thing is Oregon plays a lot of guys defensively,” Huard stated. “So, it is hard to just wear them down. They have some size up front on the defensive line and they will give a bunch of different looks pre and post snap.”
Huard also mentioned one thing that Utah could be vulnerable to, not only against the Ducks but if they made the College Football Playoff and having to face either LSU, Clemson or Ohio State.
“It’s Utah’s offensive line,” Huard said. “They have gotten better as the season has evolved. I think they have settled in with guys in consistent roles, but it is still a group that could get lost with their eyes.”
Utah will face No. 13 Oregon on Friday in the Pac-12 Championship Game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The game will kickoff at 6 p.m. and will be televised on ABC.
The Crimson Corner podcast is the one-stop for all things University of Utah Athletics hosted by Utah insider Trevor Allen. Ute fans will find interviews with current players, coaches, and staff alongside expert analysis of every game, story and angle coming out of the University of Utah.
You can download and listen to the podcast, here.