Ever since the Pac-12 added Utah into the conference, the Utes have been known to play a fundamentally sound and physical brand of football. They don't make mistakes, and they can go toe to toe with anyone in the league.

Saturday afternoon in Salt Lake City the Ducks will likely run into one of, if not the league's best defensive teams in the country. To leave Utah with a win, the Ducks need to be ready for an old-school, backyard brawl.

"You have to try to match their physicality," said Oregon offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo. "You have to be really sound with your fundamentals."

Utah's defense ranks second in the Pac-12 in yards allowed per game at just 314.7 yards, which also is ranked 17th nationally. They don't give up big plays, they don't make mistakes, and they play very physically to get their opponents off schedule on down and distance.

“It’s the best defensive line in the Pac-12, and arguably the nation," said Oregon junior guard Shane Lemieux. "They have a very stout defensive line.

“Similar to Washington. Washington and Utah are pretty similar. I think Utah is a little bigger and more physical than Washington. It’s going to be the same kind of mode. It’s a big test, but it’s our type of football."

Utah's defense deploys a 4-2-5 defense that allows their defensive linemen to plug the gaps, make dents into their opponents' offensive lines, and then allow their two senior linebackers to play downhill and aggressive. This season Utah's defense has been elite. Utah is No. 9 in the country in rushing defense (100.0), No. 1 in the Pac-12 in first down defense (154), No. 17 nationally in scoring defense (19.1), and No. 19 nationally in opponent third-down conversion percentage (32.4).

"They don't miss tackles," Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal said of Utah's two linebackers. "These guys play with great balance."

For Oregon to be successful, the Ducks will need to be able to neutralize Utah linebackers, Chase Hansen and Cody Barton. Hansen leads the team in tackles with 75 and has 15.5 tackles for loss this season while Barton is just behind him with 72 total tackles and four tackles for loss.

"These guys are complete linebackers," Cristobal said. "There is a reason they have the production that they have. They are blessed with athletic ability but they know what they are doing, and they are doing it with a physical manner."

The Ducks themselves have prided themselves as one of the more physical teams in the Pac-12 this season, and that will undoubtedly be put to the test. To make matters even worse, the Ducks will start the game without two of their original starters up front along the offensive line. Freshman left tackle Penei Sewell remains out with an injury and junior center Jake Hanson has to miss the first half of the game because of a targeting call against UCLA in the second half of that football game.

In their place, the Ducks are expected to start junior tackle Calvin Throckmorton at center instead of left tackle, and then true freshman Steven Jones is the likely candidate to draw the start against the Utes.

“They’re some big boys. I’ve just got to hit the film and hit my notes. I need to be mentally prepared," Jones said of the first potential start of his career.

The last month has seen constant shuffling between Oregon's offensive linemen. Against UCLA last week the Ducks at one point featured just one player at the line of scrimmage playing in his original position, left guard Shane Lemieux. Despite the shuffling, Oregon's offensive line ran for over 200 yards and had their best running game in over a month.

"That's underrated chemistry that a lot of people are not familiar with," Arroyo said of Oregon's shuffling of the offensive line. "They are used to being around each other and hearing calls from one guy.

"For those guys to click together says a lot about them. I think that's going to pay big dividends; you just don't know how fast as that's going to come."

The Ducks are hoping those dividends start showing up on Saturday at Utah.