What Oregon Coaches Are Saying About Matchup With Utah Football
Nov 17, 2021, 2:49 PM | Updated: 3:37 pm
Head coach Mario Cristobal of the Oregon Ducks looks on from the sidelines during the first half of the game against the Washington State Cougars at Autzen Stadium on November 13, 2021 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
(Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah and Oregon will battle in what is pegged as the game of the year in the Pac-12 conference to this point in the season.
A lot is on the line for both Utah and Oregon as they will battle in primetime at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Here is what Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal, offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead and defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter had to say about the Utes.
Mario Cristobal’s Thoughts
Coach Cristobal has split the two games against Utah as the head coach of Oregon. The Ducks lost to the Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium in his first season at the helm. Cristobal and Oregon returned the favor and beat Utah for the Pac-12 Championship in 2019.
With Oregon sitting at No. 3 coming into Salt Lake City to face No. 23 Utah, he knows his team is facing a great program.
“A really talented football team,” Cristobal said. “They’ve recruited really well, got a lot of staff continuity, they’ve done what they’ve done for a long time and worked for a long time together. A lot of players that play with power, a lot of speed on that team, explosive players. Again, familiarity from having run the same systems for a significant amount of time. Just an excellent football team, will be a great challenge for us, a great opportunity.”
Utah is ranked third in rushing yards per game in the conference at 214.5 and are No. 1 in the Pac-12 averaging 35.7 points per game. Cristobal was asked about facing Utah’s rushing attack.
“They use multiple personnel groups, and they use them, to what we call broken sets,” mentioned Cristobal. “They’ll be in 12 and break them out and get 11 sets and when you start team personnel as well, their tight ends are excellent blockers but it starts with the guys up front. Very, very big physical guys. Guys that do have experience. They finish their blocks, they play with really good technique. They’re big in the backfield as well. They’re hard to tackle.”
Last day in pads before heading to Utah.#GoDucks x #QuackMinute pic.twitter.com/C7zUmFEB17
— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) November 17, 2021
Devin Lloyd is trying to become a first round draft pick and is well on his way to doing that. His teammate at linebacker Nephi Sewell is facing the school that had both of his standout brothers on their roster. Penei is now in the NFL and Noah is in his second season at Oregon playing linebacker. Cristobal is familiar with both Lloyd and Sewell.
“They are very instinctive players and they get downhill in a hurry, they diagnose quickly,” stated Cristobal. “You can tell that they spend tons of time in the film room. It doesn’t take them long to figure what an offense is doing. They get it and when they get there, they get there with the right type of disposition. They’re knocked-back tacklers. Obviously, very familiar with the Sewell family. Devin Lloyd’s a guy that with his length and his range again, just an excellent football player as well as Nephi Sewell. So both those guys, they just they do so much for them not only as linebackers but also in the blitz game and also as pass rushers.”
Joe Moorhead’s Comments About Utah
Utah is leading the Pac-12 in sacks and is one of the top programs in tackles for loss. That is going to provide a challenge for Oregon’s offensive line.
“Yeah, it’s gonna be an incredible challenge, they play primarily a four down front, they have great size, inside their ends are very athletic and active,” said Moorhead. “I think both of the inside linebackers do a really good job playing downhill. But also, chasing balls down when they get to the sideline. They play a fair amount of one high safety. So they’re getting the force defenders in the box. So all those things will be a challenge handling the great front six, they’re very, very aggressive and have a great scheme. Then we got to account for the unblocked defenders at the second level.”
Game 11 at Utah
November 20 | 4:30 PM PT
Rice-Eccles StadiumABC#GoDucks → Wear Green pic.twitter.com/OUSjsB7hzR
— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) November 17, 2021
Moorhead is having to plan his offense around not allowing Devin Lloyd and Nephi Sewell to make havoc plays. The Oregon play-caller loves what he sees in Lloyd.
“Both of those guys are very talented and productive,” stated Moorhead. “Lloyd, he’s as good as I’ve seen in the past couple of years, just a guy with a lot of size and a lot athleticism, physicality against the run, but he’s also a really effective pass rusher. That’s something that’s going to be a challenge for us if he’s matched up on one of our linemen or we get back on the pass pro so we got to do a really good job there and he also appears to be the kind of emotional leader of the team as well and guys rally around him. Those are both very talented, top level Pac-12 linebackers.”
Tim DeRuyter’s Defense Facing The Utes
Oregon has one of, if not the top player in the upcoming NFL draft in defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux. DeRuyter is still going to have to find ways to stop Utah’s rushing attack.
“They have an identity,” said DeRuyter. “They’re very physical up front, they do a nice job of getting in multiple personnel groupings and creating extra gaps with their system. So they make you not just play a two-man surface or a three man but they have four and five and you better be very clear as to who’s got what gap responsibility. Once you do that, you start committing too many people to the run game, their play action game. They’ve got people who can take advantage of it. So it’s a system that coach (Andy) Ludwig has really done a nice job of evolving you know, it’s kind of an NFL tread now of scrunching formations down and creating additional surfaces. Then having all the play action game off of it makes it really difficult on defenses when you’re trying to stop the run.”
1-0 process. #GoDucks x @CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/ex4KNssciS
— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) November 17, 2021
Utah fans know about the sudden change in the offense after Cam Rising took over as the starting quarterback. DeRuyter has had time to look at Rising’s film and thinks he has a lot of ways to exploit the Ducks’ defense.
“He’s a competitor,” stated DeRuyter. “The thing that jumps out at me is I think the way he competes, the rest of the offense kind of rises around him. He just makes plays, he’s an athletic guy who’s got a little bit of an edge to him. He moves the sticks and makes that offense go and it’s impressive to see and he’s a physical runner, they put you in some formations with what they do to create some situations where he’s got one read and he can beat a guy when he pulls it. He’s a very, very effective runner and he puts the ball in the right spot all the time.”
Utah and Oregon will square off on Saturday, November 20 at 5:30 p.m. MT on ABC.
Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for KSLSports.com, Co-Host of Faith, Family and Football podcast with Clark Phillips III and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports.
