SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- Oregon's short week was capped by one long day.
Alex Smith threw a touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter and Utah's defense came up huge down the stretch en route to a 17-13 victory over the 22nd-ranked Ducks.
Oregon upset Michigan two weeks ago but followed with a dismal performance Saturday, committing nine turnovers in a 39-point loss to Washington State. The Ducks had only five days off before taking on the Utes and looked like they needed a longer break.
Utah (4-1) trailed, 13-3, before Smith connected with Steven Savoy on a 69-yard touchdown pass with 9:15 left in the second quarter. The Utes took the lead for good with 13:07 remaining, when Smith capped an 11-play, 93-yard drive with a nine-yard TD pass to Ben Moa.
The Ducks were driving late when freshman cornerback Eric Weddle blitzed quarterback Jason Fife, forcing a fumble. Utah recovered and was not able to get a first down but stopped Oregon with 2 1/2 minutes remaining to regain possession.
The Utes drove inside the 1-yard line before Smith was stopped on 4th-and-goal with 31 seconds left. Ducks quarterback Kellen Clemens completed a pass to the 20 but was sacked on first down and his 20-yard pass on the final play was insignificant.
Utah snapped a three-game losing streak to Oregon (4-2), defeating the Ducks for the first time since 1994.
"It was a tough game," Oregon coach Mike Belloti said. "Utah controlled the lind of scrimmage. This is a game I would've liked to win, but I told me players it is a good thing Utah is not in our league."
"This was a great win for Utah football," Utes coach Urban Meyer said. "I've coached 19 years and I've never been more proud of a group of guys."
Smith completed 25-of-38 passes for a career-high 340 yards as the Utes gained 466 total yards. Paris Warren, who transferred from Oregon following his freshman year, had 10 receptions for 54 yards against his former team and Savoy caught six passes for 176 yards.
Brand Warfield ran 22 times and had 74 of Utah's 126 rushing yards. The Utes were effective on third down, converting 11-of-22 opportunities.
Utah's defense had five sacks, forced a pair of turnovers and limited Oregon's offense to 357 yards, including just 80 on the ground.
Neither of the Ducks' quarterbacks fared well, combining to go just 15-of-33 for 268 yards and an interception. Clemens completed 12-of-14 attempts for 246 yards and Fife was only 3-of-9 and committed both turnovers.
Clemens engineered a 10-play, 74-yard drive and gave the Ducks a 10-3 lead with a two-yard touchdown run just 1:27 into the second quarter.
Oregon recovered a fumble on Utah's next drive and Jared Siegel kicked his second field goal of the game four plays later for a 13-3 cushion.
