Oregon Ducks against Utah Utes

Britain Covey celebrates a touchdown catch thrown by running back Devontae Booker during Utah's 62-20 win against Oregon.

(Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian)

It was a running back's bragging about his big arm that led to Utah's huge touchdown play against Oregon.



Ute senior running back Devontae Booker had already established himself as one of the country's 25 best at his position after averaging 110.8 yards per game entering last Saturday's Pac-12 Conference opener at Autzen Stadium.



What Oregon's defense didn't know was that Utah had been working on a halfback pass play for the previous month to harness his arm, too.



"We weren't working on it with saving it for Oregon," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said on a conference call with reporters. "We were just waiting for the right circumstance and the right scenario to run it and it just so happened that that circumstance came up on Saturday so we utilized it."



With 12:13 remaining in the third quarter and Utah leading 34-13, Booker took a pitch to the left side of the field, drew several Oregon defenders toward him as if he would finish the run, then lofted a 25-yard touchdown pass to receiver Britain Covey. No Oregon defender was within five yards of Covey as he caught the pass at the goal line.

The play broke open the flood gates in what became a 62-20 rout by Utah -- Oregon's widest margin of defeat since 2003 and its worst home loss since 1977 -- and continued the onslaught of points and yards that opponents have gained against the UO defense.



"(Booker) has been bragging all offseason and fall camp how good his arm is and he can throw the ball quite a ways," Whittingham said. "So we said OK, we're going to put this in and see what you can do with it.



"That's not an easy throw for a running back to make. He's got to get the football and sell the run, look up and pick up the receiver in his vision and then of course throw the ball where it needs to be. It's not as easy as it may look. Devontae ran it to perfection."

Just as the Ducks had no answer for what Utah termed one of the four or five "special" plays it includes in its weekly game plan, they've struggled mightily in several defensive categories a third of the way through the regular season, a trend that could continue given Oregon's lack of depth and experience at its most vulnerable spot: the secondary.



Among 127 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, Oregon's defense ranks 113th in first downs allowed, 107th inside the red zone, 103rd in yards per play, 117th in points allowed, 112th in passing efficiency and 110th in total defense.



"You can't manufacture experience," Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said Tuesday. "... Some of those things are personnel things, some of those are schematic things, in some areas you might be adding or in some areas you might be reducing and creating competition at different spots."



While No. 10 Utah (4-0, 1-0 Pac-12) savors a bye this week, the Ducks won't have any extra time to figure out solutions ahead of a 7 p.m. road test at Colorado (3-1, 0-0) on Saturday.



"The biggest thing is just going out there and playing fast and playing with confidence and doing your job," Helfrich said. "And, trying to block out everything else that goes through a young person's mind in some of these situations."



-- Andrew Greif

agreif@oregonian.com

@andrewgreif