Utah’s dismantling of Oregon changed the outlook in college football

Forget what you thought you knew and when you thought you knew it.

We woke up Sunday to a new world disorder in which Indiana and California were a combined 8-0, while Auburn and Oregon stood a carved-up 4-4.

Red is the new green, or maybe you missed Utah’s 62-20 win Saturday night in, over, around and at Oregon.

“That was a nice road win by our team,” Utah Coach Kyle Whittingham said afterward.

His words set the Guinness World Record for understatement, like Neil Armstrong landing on the moon and saying, “We made good time.”

Oregon’s defeat was a game-changer in the Pac-12 paradigm with tentacles that extended to Baton Rouge, La.; Columbus, Ohio; and Oxford, Miss.

Oregon has, for a decade, set the green standard for the way other programs play, play video games, act, think and dress. Oregon was ahead of its fashion time, like Versace, but forgot to trademark its brand and got ripped off by Baylor Bears, Auburn Tigers and various other copycats.

The shame is Oregon never cashed in with a national championship and now could be headed for a “Disco Duck” era.

Oregon was defeated in Eugene with alarming ease and alacrity by a school that called the Mountain West home while Chip Kelly was rewriting the rules.

Utah averaged 7.2 yards per play Saturday night and amassed 530 total yards. Oregon’s backside coverage made you convinced that Marcus Mariota must now, retroactively, also be named the Ducks’ defensive most valuable player for 2014.

“To put that many points on a team like Oregon is unheard of,” Utah quarterback Travis Wilson said after the game.

Wilson, the pride of San Clemente High, played the game of his life, rushing for 100 yards, throwing for 227 and accounting for five touchdowns.

The Ducks’ offense was compromised by an injury to its starting quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., but there is more broken at Oregon than the index finger on his throwing hand.

“There is not a ton to be said,” Coach Mark Helfrich said.

Actually, defeat spoke volumes.

How times have changed: UCLA missing Oregon on this year’s schedule may actually hurt the Bruins, while “lucky” USC gets to play at Eugene in November?

Oregon has been reduced like a shallot in red-wine sauce, relegated to the role of Pac-12 agitator, heel-nipper and spoiler. The Ducks dropped out of the Associated Press top 25 on Sunday, snapping a streak of 98 consecutive appearances.

Oregon has lost twice in September for the first time since 2004 and suffered its worse defeat since a 59-14 defeat to Arizona State in 2003.

“There is going to be a lot of film watching going on tomorrow,” Ducks offensive lineman Tyler Johnstone said.

Oregon might want to reminisce with, “How Green WAS my Valley.”

You knew it was a bad night when the Ducks were hijacked of a legal possession, and excellent field position, by a television network.

Utah was allowed to replay a fourth down after Tom Hackett’s Aussie-style punt hit a Fox camera wire hanging over the field at Autzen Stadium.

Instead of re-booting, though, Utah orchestrated a successful fake punt that led to another touchdown.

Yes, Saturday was one mixed-up bowl of alphabet soup.

The letters T-C-U pulled off the most incredible play Saturday that did not involve Mike Trout leaping a center-field fence.

The scene from Lubbock: Texas Christian, facing the defeat that could cost it the national championship, trailed Texas Tech by four points in the final minute.

The Horned Frogs were boiled down to fourth and goal when quarterback Trevone Boykin threw a high pass that bounced off receiver Josh Doctson’s fingertips for an apparent game-ending incompletion.

Except, teammate Aaron Green was trailing the play and caught the deflection before doing a toe-tap to stay in bounds with 23 seconds left.

TCU won, 55-52.

“I don’t know where he came from,” TCU Coach Gary Patterson said of Green, “but thank goodness.”

Plays like this can turn the course of a season. In 1997, Nebraska won a game at Missouri with the help of a Scott Frost touchdown pass that deflected off the foot of Shevin Wiggins into the hands off teammate Matt Davison.

That fluke helped Nebraska to a share of the national championship.

TCU is 4-0 and, according to Patterson, played Saturday without nine top defensive players. Patterson seems resigned that this year’s team is going to have to win more 55-52 outcomes.

“If you don’t like this kind of ball, then don’t come,” he said.

Schools starting with the letter “A” got eaten alive: Arizona, Arizona State, Auburn, Arkansas and Arkansas State.

UCLA and USC took down the Arizonas by a sum of 98-44.

It may have been the worst single-day defeat in the state since Barry Goldwater lost in 1964 by the electoral count of 486-62.

The Bruins played their best on prime-time TV since Cade McNown, or Troy Aikman, or maybe Mark Harmon on “St. Elsewhere,” while USC provided Steve Sarkisian the “must win” myopic fans thought he so desperately needed.

UCLA moved to No. 7 in the AP poll, with USC still in the game at No. 17.

Those salivating for a UCLA-USC game on Nov. 28 that finally means everything, however, may have to recalibrate the parade route.

The speed bump may now be Utah, which jumped eight spots, to No. 10, in the AP.

USC hosts Utah at the Coliseum on Oct. 24, a week after its every-other-year sojourn to Notre Dame. UCLA plays at Utah on Nov. 21, a week before USC.

It was embarrassing enough that Utah defeated both L.A. schools last year — what if the Utes did it again?

There are miles to go between now and then, of course, with many extenuating factors to consider: attrition, parity, injuries, fluke plays, botched Hail Mary coverage.

The Pac-10 expanded to 12 mostly to get Colorado, though, with Utah being a throw-in after the deal to expand to 16 teams collapsed.

The question being asked today in Eugene, and maybe Westwood and over at Heritage Hall, involves aliens wearing red suits from a salt basin somewhere east of Area 51.

“Utah…? Who invited these guys?”

chris.dufresne@latimes.com

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