Dan Lanning's message to his Oregon football team this week was not to let Washington beat the Ducks twice, as in don't get stuck dwelling on the stinging setback from last weekend with another hugely-important game on tap Saturday at Autzen Stadium vs. Utah.

Well, that will be easier said than done if the Ducks have quarterback Bo Nix, whose status for the game remains unknown after he had to limp off the field late last week before returning and looking less than full strength on the final drive.

Nix's status, with the mostly untested redshirt freshman Ty Thompson behind him, remains the pivotal variable when trying to size up this matchup.

While the loss to Washington last week may have erased the Ducks' CFP hopes, the path to a potential Pac-12 championship and more is still in their complete control.

For the second straight week, Autzen Stadium plays host to one of the biggest games on the national college football schedule -- 7:30 p.m. PT on ESPN -- as the No. 10 Utes (8-2, 6-1 Pac-12) visit the No. 12 Ducks (8-2, 6-1).

The Duck Sports Authority staff weighs in on the Nix situation and other key storylines for the week in our roundtable debate/discussion ...

What's your best guess on Bo Nix's status for Saturday?

Scott Reed: "I am going to have to say here that I cannot answer this question without giving up information received earlier in the week."

A.J. Jacobson: "I would suspect he plays, but it is no sure thing. On the one hand, he did come back in and play after the injury so at least at that point they didn’t think it was too bad. But with knees you never know. There are a couple of clues, but they are contradictory. Lanning said Nix is preparing as if he is going to go, but that they are carefully limiting his reps. But wide receiver Kris Hutson basically said that Nix was out and that it was next man up. He is tough and I am sure he is campaigning to play. My guess is that he gives it a go."

Brandon Gibson: "My best guess for Saturday is that if Nix is able to go, he isn’t likely to be the Nix we’ve seen the last eight weeks. If he is able to come out and run and throw like he has been, I’ll gladly eat crow, but from the look of his final throw on last Saturday, at best, he’ll be missing a little bit as a running and passing threat against a solid Utah defense. Should Nix be out, Oregon is in a world of trouble, based on the limited action we’ve seen from Ty Thompson (not to mention Jay Butterfield not pressing him in competition). Should Oregon be forced to start Thompson, Utah will undoubtedly stack the box and make Ty throw the ball and more importantly make decisions on plays, which hasn’t quite clicked yet at this level for him. Again, should Thompson prove me wrong, I’d be more than happy to see it, but so far, the evidence speaks otherwise. Oregon preaches next man up, but this is a late season matchup with Pac-12 championship game implications, so a semi-healthy Nix is what Oregon probably needs to hope for in this matchup. If Nix can fight through this one, Oregon sits in a much better spot to make it to Vegas."

Ryan Young: "Now, I'm just trying to decode Scott as much as Kris Hutson. ... Ultimately, Hutson gave more to work with. Hutson was asked about his confidence in Thompson and Butterfield IF Nix can't play. Often times college athletes get into a habit during interviews of repeating part of the question, but the question stated IF. Hutson then said, 'We're very confident. They both are two great quarterbacks. Obviously, Bo is down, so it's the next man up. They going to go in like they've been there before.' Then later in the same interview, Hutson was asked if he had hoped Thompson would get a chance to throw the ball when he came in late last weekend. 'This game he's going to show that to you guys this weekend.' Is Hutson delivering the smoothest, most confident misdirection call of the season? Or did he just not think how Dan Lanning would feel about him giving up a legitimate injury update? Argh, I just don't know. Also, things can change over the course of the week. Maybe Nix was simply inactive in practice, resting up to have his best chance to play Saturday and that's what Hutson referenced. I do believe Nix will push to play unless he absolutely can't be out there, and that Lanning and Kenny Dillingham will want to at least see him function in the game if he at all can, unless it would jeopardize his health further."