Playoff won't include Utah after Oregon rolls in Pac-12 final

The one constant all season for Utah was the ability to control the trenches against any opponent.

With a possible playoff berth and the first Pac-12 title in school history on the line, the Utes more than met their match against Oregon.

CJ Verdell ran for 208 yards and broke open the game with two long touchdown runs in the fourth quarter, and No. 13 Oregon spoiled No. 5 Utah's playoff hopes with a 37-15 victory in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Friday in Santa Clara, Calif.

"Unfortunately we came up short tonight," coach Kyle Whittingham said. "Disappointing thing is we lost in the one area we've been undefeated this year: line of scrimmage."

The Utes (11-2) came into the game hoping to make a case for one of the four playoff spots with a conference title but instead got overmatched by Oregon (11-2) and lost their second Pac-12 Championship Game in a row.

Utah held 11 of 12 opponents to less than 100 yards rushing and led the nation by giving up 56.3 yards rushing per game, prompting plenty of pregame talk about how the Utes' physical dominance could be the determining factor.

The Ducks took that personally and responded.

The Utes fell into a 20-0 hole in the first half and then gave up a 70-yard TD run to Verdell after cutting the deficit to 23-15, paving the way for the winner of Saturday's Big 12 title game between Oklahoma and Baylor to get into the playoff — as long as No. 2 Louisiana State defeats No. 4 Georgia for the SEC championship.

"It's disappointing," Utah left tackle Darrin Paulo said. "I can't really wrap my head around it right now."

• Indiana coach Tom Allen agreed to a new seven-year contract worth more than $27 million. The deal runs through the 2026 season and will average $3.9 million per year.