Just like Oregon’s offense, the college football season has been moving with a full head of steam.

Duck seniors were honored pre-game Saturday night with many of them playing in their final game at Autzen Stadium -- and making it a successful home finale was the shared mission.

Before that upset loss to Washington last week, all of Oregon’s players who had joined the team after the start of the 2018 season had never been on the losing end when playing in Eugene.

With that streak snapped, there was only one home game left for the seniors.

The Ducks had to use a bit of a different formula this time. Quarterback Bo Nix played through the injury he sustained a week earlier, after his status had remained publicly unknown all week, but this wasn't the dominant offensive performance Oregon has made routine this fall.

This time the No. 12-ranked Ducks had to lean on their maligned defense, holding off the No. 10 Utes for a 20-17 win.

It was the fewest points Oregon (9-2, 7-1 Pac-12) had scored since the season opener, but it was enough, as the Ducks control their path to the Pac-12 championship game, where No. 7 USC awaits.

Oregon surprisingly struggled on offense, mainly due to being cautious with Nix, who only ran the ball two times while still dealing with last week’s injury. He completed 25 of 37 passes for 287 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, and the Ducks' rushing attack managed a season-low 59 yards on 25 attempts.

The defense was in unfamiliar territory, needing to get stops and set the tone.

Coming into the game, it wasn’t made clear who would be taking reps under center. Nix’s injury last week limited him in practice, but by Saturday night, he was good to go.

He was in for nearly the entire game. One drive in the third quarter was, however, run by Ty Thompson. The backup didn’t even get one play through before a turnover occurred.

A miscue on the handoff led to Oregon’s second fumble of the year after having zero before the Washington game. Thankfully for the Ducks, they were able to provide their own turnovers in this game.

Bennett Williams had 2 interceptions and a team-high 14 tackles, while Noah Sewell also nabbed a pick.

Cam Rising’s third interception of the day, by Williams with 4:15 left in the fourth quarter, all but killed off Uta's final push.

Camden Lewis' 41-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter stood as the difference after the Utes had score the first 14 points of the half to tie the game at 17-17.

RELATED: Fifth Quarter Analysis | Watch postgame interviews with Oregon players

First Quarter:

10:56, Oregon: Bucky Irving 10-yard run (Camden Lewis PAT), 7-0 Utah

1:09, Utah: Jadon Redding 45-yard field goal, 7-3 Oregon

Second Quarter:

10:28, Oregon: Bo Nix 4-yard pass to Troy Franklin (Camden Lewis PAT), 14-3 Oregon

0:22, Oregon: Camden Lewis 30-yard field goal, 17-3 Oregon

Third Quarter:

13:14, Utah: Karene Reid 11-yard fumble return (Jordan Noyes PAT), 17-10 Oregon

2:39, Utah: Jaylen Dixon 18-yard rush (Jadon Redding PAT), 17-17

Fourth Quarter:

11:17, Oregon: Camden Lewis 41-yard field goal, 20-17 Oregon

Momentum seemingly switched over to Utah’s sideline after the first half. Oregon saw its two-touchdown lead slowly dwindle down and with 7 minutes remaining, it was a slim 3-point advantage. Utah went for it in Oregon’s territory despite having the chance to tie the game. The Ducks got the stop as Cam Rising threw incomplete to Dalton Kincaid on fourth-and-2 from the 26 and they ran off with the victory.

WR Dont'e Thornton

In one of the strangest offensive performances from the Ducks this season, it is not a running back or Bo Nix getting this award. Thornton had over half the team's receiving yards (151) and had multiple catches that saved crucial drives. No other offensive player had the usual high-output performance today, so thankfully for the injured Nix, Thornton stepped up.

DB Bennett Williams

Even though not many on the team blamed Williams for last week’s loss to Washington, he put the blame on himself. A couple of miscommunication errors allowed the Huskies multiple 60+ yard touchdown catches where Williams was the closest defender. He redeemed himself on Saturday in near-perfect fashion. His two interceptions came at crucial times and helped the offense mightily as they began to fall apart late in the game.

The first pick came near midfield early in the second quarter the very next play after Thornton fumbled for Oregon, and it set up the Ducks' second touchdown for a 14-3 lead. And the second pick, again, helped seal the win in the fourth quarter.

Without Cam McCormick making a stretched-out ankle tackle on Clark Phillips III after he had a pick-6 essentially handed to him, the game could have had a very different ending. The Pac-12 interception leader jumped McCormick’s screen route and had green turf in front of him with less than 6 minutes to play. If he were to have taken the ball back for six points, it would have been the Utes’ second defensive touchdown of the game. The score also would have given Utah the win most likely and would have resulted in back-to-back disappointing losses for the Ducks.

Oregon won this game because the defense showed up. There were a lot of reasons why the Ducks lost to Washington last week, but the clear cause for the upset was the poor play from the defense. Dan Lanning’s unit allowed over 400 passing yards to Michael Penix Jr. and needed to regroup to stop the efficient Utes. Instead of another high-scoring day, the Ducks intercepted Cam Rising three times after only he had only thrown four all year.

With a win next week over Oregon State, the Ducks are in the Pac-12 championship game. If they lose, the tiebreaker scenarios get complicated based on what else happens around the conference.

Passing:

Bo Nix: 25-37, 287 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

Rushing:

Noah Whittington: 10 carries, 53 yards

Bucky Irving: 10 carries, 21 yards, 1 TD

Dont’e Thornton: 1 carry, -3 yards

Bo Nix: 2 carries, -3 yards

Receiving:

Kris Hutson: 9 receptions, 56 yards

Dont’e Thornton: 4 receptions, 151 yards

Troy Franklin: 4 receptions, 14 yards, 1 TD

Bucky Irving: 3 receptions, 33 yards

Terrance Ferguson: 2 receptions, 16 yards

Noah Whittington: 2 receptions, 10 yards

Moliki Matavao: 1 reception, 7 yards