Somehow, the Utah football team finds a way to make every Western Athletic Conference game it plays exciting.
Usually it's with an amazing comeback (Fresno State, Air Force games) or a near-comeback (San Diego State, Colorado State). Saturday at War Memorial Stadium, the Utes tried something completely different, blowing a 20-point lead late in the fourth quarter, before hanging on to beat Wyoming 30-24."We pretty much dominated the game, yet we still could have lost it," said Ute coach Ron McBride. "We just kind of do things to let the other team back in the game or have to come back to win. This is a crazy team."
The Utes ran twice as many plays (95 to 46), kept possession for nearly three times as long (44:32 to 15:28) and came up with almost twice as many first downs (31 to 16), yet were still sweating bullets when the clock ran out. The Utes were seemingly on cruise control, leading 30-10 with just over five minutes left when Wyoming's Kevin Parma shocked them with an 83-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Then the Cowboys got the onside kick when Jason Enoch came up with the ball at the bottom of a pileup. Two plays later Josh Wallwork hit Marcus Harris at the 12-yard line, where he outleaped Calbert Beck for the catch and romped into the end zone for a 40-yard TD play.
That made two touchdowns in less than a minute. Can you say Utah-Air Force?
The Cowboys still had plenty of time to get the winning touchdown with 4:27 still left on the clock. They elected to kick the ball off, giving the Utes a touchback.
Utah picked up two key first downs, one on a pass to Rick Tucker and the other on short run by Juan Johnson to midfield. But the Utes couldn't quite run out the clock and were forced to punt with 24 seconds left.
Starting from their own 17, the Cowboys were able to run five plays, but could never even get off a Hail Mary pass as the Utes hit Wallwork on his last two tries, the latter when Chad Kauhaahaa forced a fumble at the Wyoming 41.
"All in all we played outstanding defense," said safety Harold Lusk, who came up with two interceptions. "We hung in there and came away with the win."Despite the late-game excitement, the Utes controlled the action and played one of their better overall games.
Besides a defense that forced six turnovers and allowed just 308 yards - 54 on the ground - the offense played well in gaining 420 yards and giving up just one turnover.
"We felt we could move the ball no matter what and make it work," said Ute quarterback Mike Fouts, who completed 23 of 40 passes for 257 yards. "That's a nice change. We feel like we can't be stopped, but we need to score more, especially in the red zone."
The Utes jumped out to a 20-7 halftime lead on a pair of touchdown runs by Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala and two field goals by Pulsipher.
Pulsipher started the scoring with a 40-yard field goal, then Fuamatu-Ma'afala capped off a 67-yard drive with 1-yard plunge.
On Wyoming's next possession, Beck forced a fumble on Harris and Kautai Olevao recovered at the Cowboy 36. Six plays later, Fuamatu-Ma'afala ran it in from 2 yards out to make it 17-0.
The Utes appeared ready for the kill when they forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff with Vea Ofa recovering. But on third down from the 18, Fouts' pass was tipped and caught by Ken Boris. The Cowboys struck quickly, going 61 yards in three plays with Wallwork hitting Harris from 24 yards out.
Utah still had four minutes left and took advantage by using the clock and settling for a 31-yard field goal by Pulsipher with four seconds left.
Fuamatu-Ma'afala had 92 yards by halftime, but in the second half, the Cowboys shut him down and he left the game late in the third quarter after diving for a first down on 4th down and landing on his head.
The teams traded field goals in the third quarter - a 29-yarder by Cory Wedel and a 23-yarder by Pulsipher.
Late in the third quarter, Harris, the Cowboys All-America candidate receiver, made a big boo-boo after catching a pass on the east sideline. Two Utes fell down and Harris had about 60 yards of daylight ahead of him. But he inexplicably dropped the ball and Olevao recovered for Utah at the 38.
Five plays later, the Utes went up 30-10 when Johnson ran in from 7 yards out. There was still 14:14 left and many of the 12,562 fans starting heading for the exits.
"I thought Harris' fumble was one of the biggest plays of the game," said Wyoming coach Joe Tiller. "It appeared he was switching hands when it came loose. The two defenders had fallen down, so it appeared to be a sure touchdown. That was a huge decision-maker."
Harold Lusk came up with perhaps the most exciting play of the day when he picked off a tipped pass and weaved his way some 90 yards for an apparent touchdown early in the fourth quarter. However, the Utes were called for interference on the play, giving the Cowboys the ball at the Ute 14.
But on the very next play, Lusk caught another tipped pass and this time went nine yards before falling down. "I was too tired to run, because of the first one," said Lusk.
The victory assures the Utes of a winning season at 6-4 and keeps them in WAC title contention at 5-2.
The Utes get their first Saturday off this week, which will give them an extra week to prepare for BYU. The Nov. 18 game at Provo is the Utes' final regular-season game of the year.
"It's real important because we're a tired team," said McBride of the bye. "It comes at a perfect time for us."
GAME NOTES: Fuamatu-Ma'afala gained more than 100 yards for the third time this season, finishing with 104 yards on 26 carries. He suffered a mild concussion, but should be all right . . . Henry Kaufusi led the Utes with seven tackles. . . Rocky Henry caught six passes , while Henry Lusk and Rick Tucker had five apiece . . . Umpire Dean Reimer was knocked down midway through he third quarter and left with a head injury . . . This was only the second Ute victory in Laramie since 1972, the other coming in 1991.