Herbert’s visit to Rice-Eccles Stadium last November will be remembered partly for Utah’s four sacks of him and Jaylon Johnson’s fourth-down pass deflection that saved the Utes’ victory.
Yet even in defeat, Herbert did some remarkable things, completing 20 of 33 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns against one of the Pac-12′s best secondaries. An overlooked element of that game was how Oregon center Jake Hanson missed the first half, due to a targeting ejection the previous game. Once the Ducks’ pass protection was solidified in the third quarter, Herbert became highly effective. And with St.