NEWS » se, some succeeded creating scoring opportunities, but none

SALT LAKE CITY -- The goal for No. 11 Utah was clear this season -- win the Pac-12 South Division. The Utes have trended upward since joining the league in 2011, but have yet to play in the championship game.Their hopes of doing so this season ended Saturday.Justin Herbert hit Darren Carrington for a 17-yard touchdown pass with two seconds remaining to give Oregon a 30-28 upset victory over the Utes.A chance to win the South, thats the next step for our program, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. We won nine games two years ago, 10 games last year. Were winning games. Weve won more games in the Pac-12 than any team in the Pac-12 over the last three years. But the next hurdle, the next step is to win a South title. Thats what we need to do.Herbert led the Ducks (4-7, 2-6 Pac-12), who have struggled all season and suffered several lopsided losses, on a 10-play, 75-yard drive in just over two minutes, capping it with the TD pass to Carrington. Carrington was initially called out of bounds but that call was reversed after a replay showed he got a foot down in bounds.Oh man! Carrington said. Big-time players make big-time plays and it was definitely time to make a big-time play so I just had to come through in the clutch for my boys. I just turned and saw the ball in the air and went and got it. I had no idea the ball was coming until it was up in the air.The Utes (8-3, 5-3, No. 12 CFP) blitzed on the final play and left man-to-man coverage on the outside.Disappointing to say the least, Whittingham said. (Oregon) made the plays when they had to be made. We were not able to make those plays. Second half, couldnt get a stop on defense when we needed to. Couldnt put a dagger in their heart when we could have on offense.The Utes had taken a 28-24 lead with 2:18 remaining off a Troy Williams 30-yard touchdown pass but the Ducks then began their comeback drive.Ive got some of the best receivers in the country out there, so I trust them to make catches like that, said Herbert, who finished the game with 324 yards passing and three TDs. He also scored on a one-yard run in the fourth quarter.Royce Freeman led the Ducks ground game with 129 yards. He also scored on a one-yard pass from Herbert early in the fourth.Carrington had a quiet day until the game-winning catch, finishing with 37 yards on five receptions.Joe Williams rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown for Utah. The normally stout Utes defense gave up 575 yards of offense to Oregon.That was a long, long, long, long review, Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said about the final play. There would have been a lot of questions if that wasnt ruled a touchdown. Our guys drove on an excellent defense in the fourth quarter in their stadium, down, but stared it right the face.POLL IMPLICATIONSUTAH: The Utes will fall from No. 11 after the loss to an Oregon team that is still three games shy of .500 and wont reach it this year. The Utes, however, should stay in the Top 25.OREGON: Will remain on the outside looking in.THE TAKEAWAYOREGON: The Ducks are still simply running out the clock. Even with a win against Oregon State in the season finale, Oregon would fall shy of the six normally needed to be bowl eligible. This would be the first time since 2004 that Oregon missed a bowl game.UTAH: The Utes lost control of their own destiny. After the Oregon loss, Utah needed Colorado to lose to Washington State to remain in the hunt for the Pac-12 South Division. Colorado won 38-24 on Saturday. The race is now down to Colorado and USC, which beat the Buffaloes 21-17 in October to earn the tiebreaker.SACK KINGUtah defensive end Hunter Dimick set the schools career sack record in the first quarter with a sack of Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert. He wasnt done there, picking up sack No. 2 later on the same drive. He finished the day with two sacks after entering the day tied for the nation high with 12. The record is now set at 29 and Dimick has 14 this season.EJECTEDOregon starting receiver Charles Nelson was ejected midway through the second quarter after being called for targeting. Nelson peeled back for a block on Justin Thomas as Herbert ran around the right end. Nelsons shoulder pads mostly hit Thomas in the chest, but there was some contact between his helmet and Thomas facemask. Nelson entered the game with a team-high 47 receptions and 501 receiving yards.UP NEXTOREGON: The Ducks wrap up the season against in-state rival Oregon State in the Civil War.UTAH: The Utes travel to face No. 12 Colorado next Saturday.---For more college football: http://collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 Cheap Puma Shoes Australia . Coach Tom Thibodeau says the former MVP will probably start travelling with the team in the next few weeks. Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee at Portland in November and was ruled out for the remainder of the season by the Bulls. Puma Shoes Australia . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. http://www.cheappumaaustralia.com/ . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. Cheap Puma Shoes Womens . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. Buy Puma Shoes Australia . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. Collaros also started Torontos 23-20 regular-season finale loss to Montreal — Ray didnt dress because the Argos had already clinched first in the East Division — but was one of three quarterbacks to play that day. MADRID -- Barcelonas chances of winning the Spanish league this season could be determined by whether Andres Iniesta is fit to play in Saturdays clasico against Real Madrid.Having Iniesta available this weekend at Camp Nou could make the difference between clinching a third straight title or seeing Madrid snap a four-year winless drought.Barcelona has been struggling without the midfielder, and another setback could leave the team nine points behind and in a difficult position to fight for the title.Iniesta has been sidelined since injuring a right-knee ligament on Oct. 22. Doctors said he would be out 6-8 weeks, but the recovery process has been going well and Barcelona coach Luis Enrique expects the midfielder to play.We are waiting for Iniesta to be cleared, Luis Enrique said earlier this week. It should be more or less a formality, he has been practicing with us and is in good condition. We are waiting to confirm, but he should be available.Had it been any other match, the midfielder would likely be rested to avoid aggravating the injury, but Luis Enrique may not be in position to afford himself that luxury this time.All of Barcelonas four losses this season came without Iniesta in the starting lineup -- to Alaves, Celta Vigo, Espanyol and Manchester City. The 32-year-old Iniesta also wasnt with the team in recent league draws against Malaga at home and at Real Sociedad, and couldnt play in the 1-1 draw against third-division club Hercules on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey.Luis Enrique has tried several different alternatives to replace Iniesta, but none fully filled the void left by the Spain midfielder.ddddddddddddAmong the players used in Iniestas position are Denis Suarez, Rafinha, Andre Gomes, Ivan Rakitic and Arda Turan. Some did well protecting the defense, some succeeded creating scoring opportunities, but none showed the all-around talent that Iniesta brings to the team.Barcelonas recent inability to cope with Iniestas absence could actually work in favor of the midfielder, who has yet to extend his contract with the club and is soon expected to start negotiations.The consecutive draws ahead of the clasico left Barcelona players feeling discouraged and struggling to explain the teams poor performances, but Luis Enrique didnt expect the setbacks to play a role on Saturday.It wont affect us at all, he said. We are now focused on one of the most important matches of this tournament and we have the motivation of facing our main rival.Contrary to Barcelona, Madrid has been thriving recently, winning five games in a row and enjoying a 32-game unbeaten streak. The last time it played at Camp Nou, Madrid defeated Barcelona 2-1 despite playing the final minutes with 10 men.Its a good match against a great opponent who will certainly make it difficult for us and thats all there is to it, Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. We have to be prepared.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni ' ' '