No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 23 Utah: Kyle Whittingham on emergence of TJ Pledger, stopping Kayvon Thibodeaux
SALT LAKE CITY (BVM) – Saturday night’s showdown at Rice-Eccles Stadium between No. 3 Oregon and No. 23 Utah should be the Pac-12 game of the year. Either team clinches their respective division title with a win which could have major College Football Playoff implications.
Despite being ranked No. 3 and not having lost since Oct. 2 at Stanford, Oregon visits Salt Lake City as three-point underdogs. The frontrunner for Pac-12 Coach of the Year, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham would become the Utes’ winningest coach in program history with another victory on Saturday night.
But Whittingham, who is 141-69 in 17 seasons at Utah, knows the challenge that the Ducks present.
“Both defensive ends are tremendous players, the quarterback is a big strong kid that runs the ball well, the offensive line is talented, skill positions are loaded and they are doing a good job running the football,” Whittingham said of Oregon during Monday’s press conference. “So, we have our work cut out for us and we have them at home which is a good thing and we hope that Rice-Eccles is rocking and gives us that great home field advantage.”
The Utes’ focus begins with neutralizing the impact of Kayvon Thibodeaux. The projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Thibodeaux missed the majority of September after an ankle injury in the season opener. The premier pass rusher played in his first complete game of the season on Oct. 23 against UCLA and since then, Thibodeaux has recorded 21 tackles, seven tackles for loss, four sacks and an additional four quarterback hits in the four games since.
Whittingham had nothing but praise for the Ducks’ star, noting his underrated position versatility.
“I just know he is really good and really explosive,” Whittingham said of Thibodeaux on Monday. “He’s got the whole package and they say he’s a top-five pick, maybe even the top pick in the draft. He’s got height, 260 and a great get off. That’s the number one criteria for an edge rusher and the number one asset that an edge rusher needs to be great. He’s also athletic. If they wanted him to play linebacker he could easily do that.”
The Ducks have another star on the other side of the ball who must always be accounted for.
Travis Dye is averaging six yards per carry and is just as deadly in the passing game. He’s accounted for 1,210 total yards (908 rushing, 302 receiving) and 14 total touchdowns this season for Oregon.
Dye has scored in three consecutive games and Whittingham knows the talented running back must be contained.
“He’s a dual threat,” Whittingham said of Dye on Monday. “He can run the ball from the backfield and catch the ball from the backfield. He’s lighting quick and he’s a weapon for them. He’s a good player and we always have to have him accounted for and understand he can run routes out of the backfield and make sure we have coverage in place that can hopefully handle that.”
As dynamic as Dye is for the Ducks, Utah has a pair of running backs who are more than capable.
Tavion Thomas is the Utes’ leading rusher with 742 yards on the ground and 14 rushing TDs. His 177 rushing yards and four first-half touchdowns helped bury Stanford on Nov. 5, but Thomas missed last week’s win over Arizona as a precautionary measure. That left things up to junior running back TJ Pledger to carry the load, and he answered the bell.
He rushed 25 times for 119 yards and two scores, his second consecutive week of at least 100 rushing yards, in the 38-29 road win. Pledger has made himself a viable and trustworthy option in this Utes’ offense.
“He’s been a big plus for us and TJ is a very good running back,” Whittingham said of Pledger on Monday. “You know, when Tavion is healthy, he’s another great weapon for us but TJ has been running hard and has done a nice job in all phases. Not just carrying the football, he’s probably our best running back in pass protection. That’s huge because he’s so good at picking up blitz’s and protecting Cam (Rising). He’s also a good receiver out of the backfield.
As far as him running the ball, he’s come into his own and the offensive line is doing a great job of opening up holes and providing space for him.”
Saturday night’s pivotal Pac-12 matchup will likely come down to the play of the quarterbacks, Oregon’s Anthony Brown and Utah’s Cameron Rising, and the opposing defenses. Both teams average over 200 yards rushing so whichever defensive line can better control the line of scrimmage will likely earn the upper hand.
These two Pac-12 powers have split their last two matchups, with Oregon winning last on a neutral site in 2019 and Utah winning at home in 2018, which is a good indication that Saturday night’s showdown could truly go either way.
“We’ve had some good back and forth,” Whittingham said of Oregon on Monday. “We went up there a few years back and got them pretty good. We beat them here two, three or four years ago. We haven’t played them every year because of the rotation but they are always talented and it’s always tough matchups every single year.”
