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Defense continues to be Utahs strength under coach Kyle Whittingham.The No. 11 Utes, who host downtrodden Oregon on Saturday (2 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network), are second in the nation in interceptions and No. 1 in takeaways after last weeks 49-26 victory at Arizona State.Utah (8-2, 5-2 Pac-12) controls its destiny in the Pac-12 South race but has to beat the Ducks and then win at division-leading Colorado on Nov. 26 to advance to the conference championship game.All of our focus, all of our attention, is on the Ducks this week, Whittingham said.There is not a chance we will be looking past those guys. Not a chance at all. Theyre very talented on offense. I mean, theyre Oregon. They have had some struggles on defense this year, but offensively, theyre scoring points, theyre moving the ball. Theyve got firepower.Fair enough. Oregon (3-7, 1-6) does average 37.1 points per game but will not qualify for a bowl game for the first time since 2004 and it is second-to-last nationally in scoring defense, yielding 43.5 points per game.The Ducks are coming off a 52-27 loss to Stanford.Fourth-year coach Mark Helfrich, who guided the program to the national championship game in the 2014 season, acknowledged it has been a difficult season.Yeah the frustrations are different, he said.Theres always the segment of the team thats frustrated, whether thats a role or a position. Theres always something. This is different. Its not any fun. Not having a ton of fun, which is something you have to squeeze out of it at this point and play to their competitiveness and play to all those aspects of why theyre here.Utah has 25 takeaways and also leads the nation in net punting (45.3 yards per game). The Utes have picked off 17 passes. They are fifth nationally in sacks with 35, including 11 versus Arizona State.Coverage in the secondary was very good. If you can cover for that extra second, second-and-a-half, then the pass rush can show up, Whittingham said.A lot of the sacks were due to very good coverage in the back end, and a lot of them were due to the pass rush just getting on the quarterback quickly. It was a combination. That is how you play great pass defense.Utah will now take aim at Oregon freshman quarterback Justin Herbert, who took over as the starter in the sixth week. He has thrown for 1,432 yards and 15 scores while rushing for 122 yards and a touchdown, providing hope for the future.No question he cares a lot, Helfrich said.Last week, Utah defensive end Hunter Dimick rewrote some of Utahs single-game records with five sacks, 37 sack yards lost, and 6.5 tackles for loss. He also reached 27 career sacks, trying the school mark set by John Frank from 1996-99.Dimick is tied for the national lead with 12 sacks.Offensively, Utah running back Joe Williams, who retired from football for about a month at the start of the season, has made a significant mark in the past four games, rushing for 864 yards in that span, including a school-record 332 against UCLA. The Utes are third in the Pac-12 in rushing, averaging 212.9 yards a game.Quarterback Troy Williams had the best game of his career last week against Arizona States porous pass defense. Williams had a career-high 296 yards on 21-of-37 passing, with a career-best four touchdown passes.The ground or air method should work against Oregon.The Ducks rank 11th in the conference by allowing 255.9 rushing yards per game. Things might get worse as defensive lineman Austin Maloata, one of the teams top run-stoppers, was kicked off the team Sunday after an arrest.Oregon had allowed six consecutive Pac-12 teams to throw for 300 yards before Stanford, last in the league in passing, put up only 258 last week -- which was nearly double its season average.Utah enters the weekend in third place in the Pac-12 South, a game behind Colorado (6-1) and a half-game behind USC (6-2). The Utes already have a win over the Trojans. By winning out, Utah would, at worst, be in a tiebreaker situation in which it would hold the edge in all scenarios.Utah beat Oregon 62-20 last season in Eugene.All three phases seemed to click in that game, Whittingham said. It was almost flawless execution on offense from start to finish.Avalanche Jerseys 2021 . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. Cheap Avalanche Jerseys . 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Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization.INDIANAPOLIS -- Andrew Luck is paying a hefty price for taking so many hits.After getting knocked around more than a dozen times in last weekends loss to Houston, the Indianapolis Colts quarterback missed practice Wednesday with shoulder and elbow injuries to his throwing arm though he expects to play Sunday at Minnesota.Absolutely, very confident, Luck said when asked if hed be available this weekend.The Colts (6-7) desperately need him because they have to win their last three games and get help just to stay in contention for the playoffs.Pagano said he would monitor Lucks status with the medical staff this week before deciding whether to use his quarterback against a Vikings defense that is No. 2 in the league and has 35 sacks.Indy has given up 40 sacks this season and will be without left guard Jack Mewhort and possibly right guard Denzelle Good (concussion).I will wait for the doctors and trainers to go through the rehab process and go through the rest of the day (Thursday) and we will see tomorrow, Pagano said, referring to Lucks practice status.The problem in Indy is that talk about Lucks health has become a recurring theme in an already underwhelming season.Hes been listed on the teams injury report every week this season and has missed five full practices. When he sat the first time, in September, Pagano said it was because of a sore throwing shoulder and as part of a predetermined maintenance plan to keep the Colts biggest star healthy for the rest of the season.Instead, the hits mounted and the injuries didnt go away.Luck missed the Thanksgiving night loss to Pittsburgh with a concussion. On Wednesday, he compared the current soreness in his right arm to the injury he had after a Week 2 loss.It didnt feel as good after that game as you would like, Luck said. But again, its football. Its December football. Nobody feels like they want to at this point of the year.During Lucks first three NFL seasons, he was the model of consistency -- starting 57 consecutive games including the playoffs, posting three straight 11-win seasons and reaching the postseason all three times.But after enduring more than 450 hits since 2012, the most of any quarterback in the league, its taken a toll.Luck missed his first two games early last season because of an injured right shoulder.After returning, Luck spent the next month trying to fight through other injuries before missing the final seven games with a lacerated kidney and partially torn abdominal muscle.ddddddddddddEven when he did play last season, Luck wasnt the same. He went 2-5 with 15 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions in seven starts.And though the stat line has improved this season, the hits keep coming.One time is too much, left tackle Anthony Castonzo said. So any time he gets hit is too many.The latest injury comes as the reeling Colts are trying to pull things together after a loss prompted Lucks favorite option, T.Y. Hilton, and the franchises career sacks leader, Robert Mathis, to offer their critiques.Hilton told reporters Sunday evening that the Colts laid down against Houston.Mathis used his weekly radio show Tuesday on local station WNDE to call on teammates to get stronger mentally.Im not bashing -- Im just telling the truth. Im the leader and that falls on me. Im the first one the fans should be angry at, Mathis said.We can play with any team, when we are on our `A game. Its (just) a lot of mental. We are not the strongest mentally, as a team. The physical ability, the coaching, the players -- its all there. Mentally, we need to get stronger.And if they have any chance of getting back in the playoff hunt , they need Luck on the field for the final month of the season.Im a big believer in practice and it hurts your soul not to be out there practicing, he said. Obviously some things are done for the better for this team, for yourself. Not practicing today was the right decision.Game notesGood and defensive tackle Zach Kerr were both limited participants at practice as they work through the concussion protocol. ... Mathis (biceps), tight end Dwayne Allen (hip), receiver Donte Moncrief (hamstring) and offensive lineman Joe Reitz (back) did not work out. Safety Mike Adams, cornerback Vontae Davis and running back Frank Gore all were given the day off. ... Starting cornerback Patrick Robinson (groin) will miss the rest of the season after being placed on injured reserve Tuesday.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '