Add this to the list of things we didn’t think we’d say heading into Week 5 of the football season: Oregon needs a win at Colorado next week.

Like, really needs it. And not just in the way it would have needed this win in the past -- record, pecking order within the Pac-12, etc...

Oregon needs this win to remind itself that the sky is not falling, that one Pac-12 loss -- though it will affect them this season in all the aforementioned items -- will not ruin this team. It needs this win to show that it is not the team that showed up on Saturday in the 62-20 loss to the Utes.

Because Oregon is an eight-point favorite against a team that has won one Pac-12 game over the past two seasons.

The Ducks haven’t been unranked since 2009. They haven’t lost their conference opener since 2005. They haven’t had a worse record in their first four games since 2004. They haven’t had a loss that bad at home since 1977.

The Utah loss is putting the Ducks in rough waters. For the players, it’s completely uncharted territory.

"I don’t think I’ve ever lost a game like that before," linebacker Tyson Coleman said. "It was embarrassing for the program. I’m embarrassed for the guys who came before us and made the culture. It’s our job to go back out there and keep that culture alive."

Added center Matt Hegarty: "It felt like anything that could’ve gone wrong basically went wrong."

Possibly more worrisome for the Ducks is that when those problems were happening, there weren’t any players who even sort of patched the leak before it broke and became a gusher.

There is this feeling within the program right now that they will just be fine because that’s how it has been in the past, that they will find a way to win because they are Oregon, because their culture allows -- and has allowed -- for that.

But this team doesn’t look like the teams of late.

After quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. was pulled from the game and replaced with Jeff Lockie the Ducks showed signs of life. Lockie led Oregon on a 52-yard scoring drive capped by a 6-yard score from senior Bralon Addison.

Once he got into the back corner of the end zone, the senior team leader did a throat-slashing gesture directly in front of an official. It’s an easy call for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. It was the exact same motion -- from a Florida wide receiver -- that caused Gators coach Jim McElwain to erupt on the sidelines.

In the past being cocky or picking up needless penalties wasn’t a death sentence for the Ducks, but with the current state of the program, it’s foolish.

Addison’s 15-yard penalty was tacked on to the kickoff and the Utes, responded with a 68-yard scoring drive, extending their lead to 14 again. It would be another eight possessions before the Ducks scored again.

Oregon started the season with a 33 percent chance to win the conference according to ESPN’s Football Power Index. After four games the Ducks now have just a 1.2 percent chance to win the Pac-12.

It’s still possible. The North doesn’t look entirely terrifying, and though Stanford has shown some chops this season, the Ducks can’t be counted out yet. If they get their act together and tack on some wins in the North, a spot in the Pac-12 title game is possible. A win there would be tough, but not out of the question.

But Step 1 is making sure the play in the Utah loss doesn’t reappear even in small parts of games. Team leaders need to step up and patch holes, knowing this team isn’t like the teams from the past few years. No one is going to swoop in and save the Ducks from a stupid penalty or a chain of mistakes.

"When you start digging a hole, realize you’re starting to dig a hole and drop the shovel, don’t hold on to the shovel," Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said. "Grab a bulldozer, grab something else."

Last Saturday, there were no bulldozers. We'll see what the Ducks show up to play with this Saturday in a game they desperately need.