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Offense - Zack Moss
It was hard to think of any player who stood out on the offensive side of the ball for the Utes. When you manage only 15 points and fail to consistently move the ball it typically means that there wasn’t an offensive player that made significant contribution. But in reality, Zack Moss, the Utes’ leader on offense for the past three seasons, carried the offense as far as he could against the Oregon Ducks.
Moss tallied 113 yards on 19 carries, with a large chunk of that coming on a 42-yard run. Moss carried the offense for a majority of the game, which is incredible taking into account that the offensive line for Utah wasn’t able to generate any push for Moss or Tyler Huntley all game long. Moss’ powered his way to 113 yards without consistent running holes - and when you factor in the running back also totaled a team-high 57 receiving yards and a score, he’s the only player on the offensive side worthy of taking home a game ball.
Defense - Devin Lloyd
The Utah defensive line was absolutely smothered by the Oregon offensive line all game long, as the Utes were unable to stop the run and failed to get to Justin Herbert save for one play. That play came courtesy of Devin Lloyd who finished with the lone sack of the night for the Utah defense.
In total, Lloyd finished with nine tackles, - five solo - and the only sack of the night for the Utes. It was a grim night for the Utes’ defense but it was good to see Devin Lloyd make an impact in such a high-stakes game. The Utes lose all of their defensive leaders this offseason to graduation or the NFL Draft so it will fall to players like Devin Lloyd to help shoulder the load in 2020 on the defensive side. He’ll need to continue to work on his game during the offseason, but Lloyd will be an anchor on this defense moving forward.
Special Teams - None
A blocked punt. No return game. Nothing stood out on the special teams’ side of the ball in the Championship game. There weren’t any players who made a case to get a game ball for their performance on the special teams’ side of the ball and so I’ve decided not to award one. If there is anyone you can think of, drop a comment below.