Another week, another College GameDay where the Ducks will be the visitor.

The last road trip saw the GameDay crew travel to Seattle as the host Huskies handed Oregon its first loss of the year. This week, Dan Lanning and Co. will try to for a different result in an equally-important showdown Salt Lake City.

It won’t be easy as the Utes (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12) come in ranked No. 13 in the country despite multiple key injuries. The veteran coach Kyle Whittingham has his team rolling again in his 19th season despite relying on former walk-on quarterback Bryson Barnes.

Here are some of the most intriguing storylines heading into this pivotal game for the No. 8 Ducks (6-1, 3-1).

A little past the midway point in the season and Oregon currently has two of the top four Power 5 rushers in the country in terms of yards per carry. The new-look offensive line has had little to no drop-off despite all the key pieces leaving over the offseason. Jackson Powers-Johnson has been the main contributor on a front five that has made running the ball look extremely easy.

When he isn’t taking passes 43 yards to the house, Bucky Irving has been getting his yards the more traditional way for a running back, averaging 7.46 yards per carry while totaling 649 yards and 7 touchdowns on the ground.

“I think that we’ve been able to apply a good amount of tempo that can lead to explosive plays,” coach Dan Lanning said. “We’ve had some good in-game adjustments to adjust for our run game this year. I think that’s been really good from our coaching staff. And our players have done a good job executing that.”

Jordan James has taken over as the No. 2 back with Noah Whittington injured. His 7.98 yards per carry is the best of any FBS player in the country with at least 50 rushing attempts.

It hasn’t really mattered what the opposing defense looks like across from them, the Ducks have stayed with a heavy dose of the ground attack and not many have found an answer.

This will be the Ducks' toughest test yet, though, in that regard. Utah ranks 6th nationally in allowing just 78 rushing yards per game.

“Our look team does a great job of giving us looks in practice, so the things that you do in practice are going to translate to the game,” Irving said. “We’ll be up for the challenge.”

These teams have met in the Pac-12 championship twice over the past five years, with all the games in between having huge implications as well.

Utah has consistently been one of the better teams in the Pac-12 for a while now and is usually coming in ready for a dog fight. That should be no different this time around.

“Utah is a hard-nosed team,” linebacker Jeffrey Bassa said. “It's two physical teams going at it every year, it's not ever going to be a down year. It's always a tough battle that a lot of people are always looking up to.”

Despite losing to Oregon State earlier in the year, the Utes are coming off an impressive 34-32 road victory against USC last week. Much of their success comes from controlling things at the line of scrimmage, as noted.

In addition to what they do defensively, the Utes the last two games have rushed for 317 yards vs. Cal and 247 against USC.

“It’s one of those games where you’re going to be banging heads in the trenches,” Casey Rogers said. “It’s as close as a [Big Ten] style game as you’ll get in the Pac-12. I’m excited for it. It’s one of those games that keeps you up at night. It’s going to be fun.”

The Ducks have had three road games this season and have struggled in two of them. Hostile environments have caused for slow starts, and in Salt Lake City there won’t be much margin for error.

“At times, we played really well on the road, at times we could have certainly played better,” Lanning said. ”I still don’t think we played a complete game there, so this will be one that it's required.”

Playing at Texas Tech and already dealing with the College GameDay attention just two weeks ago in Seattle will help prepare the team for yet another road matchup with plenty of hostility to go around. The Utes haven’t lost at home since 2020 (18 straight wins) and won’t be looking to let go of that streak easily.

“I think we’ve done a great job at practice this week preparing for their environment and a lot of things they do,” tight end Terrance Ferguson said. “They have a lot of passionate fans. They’re going to pack out the crowd. I played there my freshman year and it's a loud place with passionate fans and a good football team behind it.”

Utah isn’t going to be at full strength for this game, just like they haven’t been at full strength at any point this season. While there are many key injuries, the main one is clearly quarterback Cam Rising.

The veteran signal-caller has been shut down for the remainder of the season while continuing to work back from knee surgery, and Utah has settled in with former walk-on Bryson Barnes in recent weeks.

Barnes had been mostly a game manager before delivering a defining performance in the Utes' win over USC last week, passing for 235 yards, 3 touchdowns and a pick and rushing for 57 yards and a score.

“Ton of respect [for] his path to being the starter,” Rogers said. “Obviously, Cam was a great player and it’s really unfortunate for him to be down this year. Barnes was given the keys and he's ran with it now. I'm excited to be able to play him, his future is really bright. He's going to be a really good quarterback.”

Other injuries for Utah include former Oregon receiver Mycah Pittman, starting linebacker Lander Barton, and top tight ends Brant Kuithe and Thomas Yassmin.